A Vampires Heart and a Dragons Soul
by Sinbad729
Summary: It has been 2 years since Harkon and Mirrak have been defeated and it seems the Civil War between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks may come to a peaceful close. But, an ancient evil awakens and threatens the coming peace to Skyrim. It is up to Kiaus and Serana to stop this evil while coming to terms with their growing feelings for each other. Male Nord DB!
1. Chapter I

A Vampires Heart and a Dragons Soul

Chapter I-Sweet Dreams

(Serana POV)

Eldergleam Sanctuary….that's where I found myself. I sat up and looked around. I took in the beauty of the Sanctuary from the butterflies flying around, to the birds chirping from the trees, to even the rainbow that formed at the base of the waterfall. "When did I get here?" I thought to myself.

"Hey, Serana." I heard a voice behind me. I turn around to see Kaius, the fabled Dragonborn, and Harbinger of the Companions. I noticed that he wasn't wearing his stalhrim gear but he was wearing normal maroon fine clothes.

"Come on Serana." Kaius called from the trail leading up to the Eldergleam. I got up on my feet and then I noticed another thing. I was not in my Vampire Lord Armor, but I was in a dark red dress.

'I don't recall having a dress like this.' I thought. I started walking up the trail and when I reached the tree, I saw Kaius sitting down at a picnic.

The picnic consisted of cheeses, bread, wine, various sliced fruits and vegetables, and freshly cooked venison with a candle in the middle of the blanket. 2 plates were set right next to each other. It looked like a small feast fit for a Jarl. When I sat down I was trying to absorb all of this.

"Hey Serana, are you feeling all right, your acting like you haven't seen Eldergleam Sanctuary before?" He asked looking at me quizzically.

"Yes, I'm fine, just wondering what all of this is for?" I asked gesturing to the picnic. He continues to look at me quizzically.

"You don't remember? I invited you to have a small picnic, just to relax a little bit instead of clearing out the nearest cave, dungeon, or ruin. I asked you about it last week and you said yes." He replied. I didn't recall anything regarding that but I went along with it.

"I remember, it just escaped me for a bit. My court has been very trying as of late." I said. He nodded his head and patted the spot next to him for me to sit.

I sat down next to him and we dug into the feast, we talked about what has happened recently, he told me that Lucia had turned 17 and he got her a skyforge steel war axe and she was beginning her training to become a Companion. I smiled, fully aware of Lucia's dream to become a Companion and to explore all of Tamriel.

"Have the peace talks made any progress between the Stormcloaks and Imperials?" I asked nibbling on a piece of venison.

He took a sip of wine first. "I could be going better. Every time I get Ulfric and Tullius to agree with one thing, Ulfric asks for something else that is completely outlandish and then Tulius disagree and asks for something just as outlandish as Ulfric. And in the end, we get nothing done because they constantly remind me that they could just settle their differences on the battlefield. Then there is the interference of the Thalmor. Ulfric still gets reports of Thalmor hunters killing Stormcloaks patrols, Elewyn denies it, of course, saying she has called back her agents to the Thalmor Embassy. It's all a lie, I know she still sends groups out to hunt Talos worshippers, I encounter them on the roads, but I try to keep Ulfric on the matter at hand."

I took another bite of venison, understanding his trouble. He has told me in the past that ever since he defeated Alduin, he has been trying to end the war between the factions and reuniting Skyrim. My father and Mirrak did not help his progress.

"But the point is I'm making progress, even if it's at a snail's pace. What about you, how have you been?" he asked me.

"I have been better; some members of my court are still cynical about the alliance between the Vampires and the Dawnguard saying we are waiting for a knife in the back. Velkon, my court wizard openly shows his displeasure for the Alliance every day. that we shouldn't reason with the living, that we should be the ones to control everything. He also believes that I have no reason to lead the clan. He voices how my mother or the other high-ranking court members should lead the clan" I replied.

It has been 2 years since Kaius and I defeated my father. After defeating him, the fighting between the Vampires and Dawnguard stopped and the Vampires who were still alive dropped their weapons and surrendered. Isran suggested to eradicate the rest of the court but Kaius proposed a solution that wouldn't involve any more bloodshed. He said if the Vampires could help keep feral vampires under control, release their current prisoners, and help clear out anything that could harm the citizens of Skyrim such as bandits, forsworn, and necromancers. And in exchange, the vampires live and they could use any of the bandits, forsworn, and necromancers as livestock. The Vampires agreed to the terms begrudgingly and asked who would be their new leader. Of course, Vingalmo and Orthjolf were the first to volunteer for the position. That was when Kaius volunteered me. He believed I could be an excellent leader/ambassador for the Vampires. Isran trusting me over Vingalmo and Orthjolf, agreed with him and I was named Lady of Castle Volkihar. Since Vingalmo, Orthjolf, Ronthil, Garan Marethi, and Hestla were the only ones who were still alive, they agreed to the terms of the alliance. After the Dawnguard left, the first thing I did was I told my mother about what happened to father. She was so elated she gave me a big hug and came out of the Soul Cairn. I made her my advisor.

"Do the other members of your court support you?" Kaius asked.

" Ronthil, Garen, and Hestla either support me or they just don't care. Orthjolf and Vingalmo say they support me but I know given the chance, they would rather rule the castle and clan. My mother is the only member who openly supports me." I replied.

"Give it some time, I believe they will come around." Kaius said.

"You clearly don't know the fir-." I began until Kaius interrupted me.

"I know that you are a great person, you're brave, your courteous, your smart, and you were able to stand up to your father and for what was right! You may not have a bunch of experience but you more than qualified for the job and since we had this alliance, we have been helping the people of Skyrim. Ignore what Velkon says and prove him wrong and show the other members that you can lead the clan" He said.

I was stunned. Kiaus had that much faith and respect for me? I started to blush. I turned away and spoke.

"Do you really have that much faith in me?"

"I do." He said. I smiled at him.

"Oh, I made you something." He said reaching towards a satchel.

"Is this another piece of armor?" I asked jokingly.

"Close your eyes." He said. I rolled my eyes but obeyed.

"Ok, you can open them." He said.

I opened my eyes and I saw he had a necklace. Upon closer in section I saw the necklace was an amethyst pendant crafted into the frame of a flower, the frame being a gold trim with a gold chain. The craftsmanship was completely astonishing. It reminded me of nightshade flowers my mother grew in her garden. The amethysts were carved to look like an exact copy of the purple flower.

"It looks amazing! And you made this?" I asked.

"Well, I did require help from Earlund with the amethysts being carved." He admitted

I looked at the necklace a little longer and I looked to Kaius. "Thank you." I said.

"Can you turn around?" He asked.

I turned around and I gave him the necklace. After he put the necklace on me I turned around to face him. He looked at the necklace then to me.

"It looks good, as is expected of my work." He said in a conceited tone.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, until you can make Dragon Bone or Daedric armor, then I will be impressed." I said knowing he is only skilled up to Stalhrim and Ebony.

"Hey, I'm getting there, I just need some more practice" I replied.

I laughed and then he started to laugh. Once we calmed down I looked at the necklace.

"Thank you again for this." I said.

"You're welcome." He replied.

I looked at his face and I took in his features. I have seen him without his helmet before but this time I really took in his features. His long brown hair with a braid in the front of his face, to his ice blue eyes, to his goatee on his square jaw, the scar he had on his right cheek, and his thin lips with a downwards scar on the right of his mouth.

"He looks so handsome." I thought. 'What?! Where did that come from?'

"You look so beautiful." Kaius said. That caught me by surprise. He has complimented me in the past but has never called me beautiful before.

"Thank you." I replied blushing.

I looked at him and this time I seemed drawn to those eyes of his. It seemed that those ice blue eyes stared right through my gold ones and I could them searing my soul, like a dragon eyeing its prey. I felt paralyzed. He placed his hand on top mine. If my heart could still beat, it would be racing. He leaned towards me and I began to do the same. As we were getting closer I closed my eyes. I already knew what was going to happen, but I couldn't stop myself. A part of me didn't want to stop.

I waited…and waited…and waited.

'Did he stop?'

I opened my eyes, instead of seeing those eyes, I saw the familiar ceiling of Castle Volkihar.

'It was all a dream.' I thought.

I sat up in my bed and looked around my room. I felt…disappointed and flustered. I wanted to see what would have happened next, but at the same time, I did not want too. I took a deep breath.

'Ok, I need to calm down. It was only a dream. It will never happen again.' I thought to myself getting out of the bed.

I looked around my room, or what used to be my father's room. After I became the Lady of the castle, I did some cleaning up around the castle and remodeling. I ended up taking my father's old room. I offered it my mother, but she said this room is for the Lord or Lady of the Castle. She ended up taking my old room. I got rid of the cage and the torture table and cleaned up the blood and bones. Now it just looks like a normal master bedroom in a castle.

"Well I better get ready for my duties as Lady of the castle" I said to nobody.

I stood up and stretched. I got on my Lord armor and walked through the corridor. I approached the court I saw everyone either drinking blood from the cattle or their chalices. When I get to my throne I am greeted by my mother.

"Serana you are late. How many times do I have to tell you, you have to be on time for meetings with the court." My mother scolded lightly.

"I'm sorry, I've haven't been sleeping well, that's all." I replied.

She gave me the look that said we will talk later then sat in her seat next to me.

"All right lets this council meeting over with." I said.

 **Hey guys, Sinbad here! Welcome to A Vampires Heart and a Dragons Soul revised. During the spring semester when I was working on chapter 9 and juggling school and work, I was rereading my earlier chapters and found out they needed to be revised because of the grouping of the paragraphs made it hard to concentrate and separate the dialogue and actions. So, I tore down my story and revised. There are no more confusing jumbled paragraphs and I also edited and added more stuff. Chapter 2 should be done within the next 2 weeks. I'm just revising the chapters that need it the most, so no flames please if the is no difference in the chapters. I hope you enjoyed the revised chapter, leave a review if you like and take it easy.**


	2. Chapter II

Chapter II- Home

(Kaius POV)

Drip…Drip…Drip…blood dripped from my battle axe. I looked at the Khajiit bandit I just killed. I sighed and continued walking up the stone stairs. I walked the circular hall around the forge. I passed a table full of weapons and armor with a small bag of jewels on the corner. I kept my eyes peeled. As I entered the forge, I looked around. I found a small batch of glowing weapons that have been forged next several empty potion bottles, but no sign of the chief. I sheathed my axe on my back.

'Where are you?' I thought to myself.

I exited the forge and walked back to the stairs. I looked back down, the area surrounding the camp was deserted except for the bodies of the bandits. Was the chief hunting or did this camp even have a chief? I cleared out the cave before coming up here. Where in oblivion is he?

I turned around.

THUD!

A hard pain smashed into the side of my face and my chest forcing me back. I fell down the stairs. I was able to stop myself from rolling on the first platform. I felt dizzy trying to get back up.

"Tell you what; you start running, so I can stab you in the back!" a voice said.

I look up and see an Orc in elven armor with an elven sword and dwarven shield charging at me. I quickly got to my feet and drew my battle axe.

'I guess that's the chief.' I thought.

"Listen, I really don't have time for this so if you could just"- I began then I blocked a downward slash with my battle axe.

I pushed him off me and he staggered back up the stair. I swung my axe at him, but he brought his shield up to block it. I kept swinging my axe at him, trying to keep him on the ground. He swung at me with his sword forcing me to step back. He quickly stood up and tackled me. We both began rolling down the stairs. On the way down, I lost my battle axe. I put my arms together to block his punches on the way down as he begins punching me. When we got to the bottom, he was on top of me still punching me.

"I will be recognized to all of Skyrim when I show everyone your head on a pike!" The Chieftain cackled as he continued his assault.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. He was not the first bandit to threaten me like that and he certainly won't be the last. I look around to find any weapon I could use against. I saw my Axe a few feet away. I drop my arms. He punches me in the face, but I grip his head and head-butt him so hard he shifted his body weight.

"FUS ROH DAH!" I shouted. Forcing him completely off me.

I rolled over to my battle axe and got up. I charged at the Chieftain who was on his knees trying to get up. I brought my axe over my head and swung down.

 _CRUNCH_

I shoved him back with my foot, yanking my axe out of the muscle between his head and shoulder. His lifeless body fell back.

'I don't know why bandits keep setting up camp here, the lunar forge is not that spectacular.' I groaned sheathing my axe on my back.

I kneeled and searched his body for any gold or jewels. I walked back up the stairs to the forge to grab the lunar weapons and any other gold or enchanted weapons in the chest next to the workbench. As I exited the forge and walked to the entrance of the stairs, I gazed at the view of the Whiterun plains. I could never get enough of the view of the plains with the Throat of the World, Whiterun, Rorikstead, the mountains of the Reach, a small portion of the Falkreath, everything in the distance. It capitalized the real beauty of Skyrim.

Making my way back to Whiterun I stopped by the nearest stream. I kneeled to fill by waterskin and to wash the blood off my axe. Taking off my helmet and splashing the cold water on my face felt wonderful. Ever since I cured my Lycanthropy I felt like I have awoken from a coma. My world seemed brighter. It was like what Farkas said, I lost aches I didn't know I had. I felt…alive. Nothing felt numb and melancholy. It was such a big difference that Lucia noticed.

I wonder how Serana would react to me. I remember when she found out about my beast blood after her father announced in front of his court. Then when we began working together she eventually accepted it when she found out I rarely transformed unless it was an urgent matter. In the instances when I did transform, she seemed to tolerate it, saying who was she to judge.

"Hey! You!" a voice shouted behind me.

I turn around and saw a Wood Elf. He was a bit smaller than me, had brown eyes, shaved head, and wearing hide armor. I then noticed he was one of the archers I shouted down the stairs back at Silent-Moons. He was limping towards me with an angry look on his face. As he got closer I also realized just how young this man was. He looked like he just became an adult. Just old enough to grow hair on his chin.

"Aren't you a little young to around a bunch of bandits? I'm pretty sure you could be doing other things." I asked.

The comment seemed to infuriate him even more. His limp slowly turning into a charge, an iron mace in his hand.

I didn't bother picking up my battle axe out of the water. I waited. When he was within arm's reach I grabbed his arm that was holding the mace twisted his wrist. I slugged him in his bad leg and he screamed. I pushed him to the ground.

"Stay down kid." I ordered while breaking his mace with my knee.

"You killed them. Why?!" He asked looking at the ground.

I looked to the camp then to him. "You're seriously asking that? Your group has been causing trouble everywhere, killing civilians, robbing Khajiit caravans and other merchants, distributing Skooma to Rorikstead and Riverwood, and Talos knows what else." I scolded.

"They were the closest thing to a family I have ever had! They may have not been perfect but they were my family!" He shouted.

"Family. That's what you called them? Your chief was a bloodthirsty maniac with a skooma addiction. Your crew killed anything that moved for the sake of getting rich. Did you know a boy in Riverwood found your skooma shipment? He drank the 4 bottles and overdosed. The boy is alive, but he could have died. The boy's death would have been on your hands." I retorted.

He remained silent and stared back at the ground. I sighed and reached into my pack and tossed a healing potion into his lap. He looked up to me in astonishment.

"I'm giving you one chance to walk away from this, to start a new life with a clean slate. If you do this, you won't have to worry about having other people hunting you for a bounty and you can make a good name for yourself. But, if you screw this up and join another bandit group, there are worst things that kill bandits then me". I said.

I grabbed my helmet and axe out of the water and continued towards Whiterun.

As I entered Whiterun I stopped by War Maidens. I saw Adrianne tampering with a steel helmet on the workbench.

"Hello, Adrianne." I greeted.

She stopped and turned to me with a smile on her face.

"Kaius, what can I do for you today?" she asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"I just have some enchanted weapons I thought you would like to see". I said setting some lunar weapons and other enchanted items that the bandits had.

"Were the bandits any trouble?" She asked examining one of the weapons.

"Not really, just the part of the common rabble," I said.

"How is the baby?" I asked.

She rubbed the slight bulge in her belly tenderly.

"Strong just like his father. He has been very active." She said tenderly.

I was happy for her. I know she will be a great mother. 2 months ago, was when she found out she was pregnant. She and Ulfberth were overjoyed with the news.

"I will take all of this off your hands for 1500 pieces." She said.

I accepted.

"Before you go, can you give this to Lucia, it's been ready for 2 days now." She said handing me the gold for the weapons and an imperial bow.

"She did a good job making it although she keeps forgetting it when she leaves."

I nodded, took the bow and head to Breezehome.

When I entered, I found Lucia in one of the chairs next to the fire reading a book with her pet fox sleeping next to her. She was so enthralled with the book she didn't notice my presence. I smiled.

I took off my helmet and sat it on the nearby table with a small thud. She jumped and looked at me.

"Papa!" She yelled and got up from the chair and hugged me.

"What has got you so enthralled in a book, that you didn't notice me?" I asked kissing her on the head.

"I'm trying to learn new techniques with fighting with a dagger. Aela beat me in sparing again today, so I am reading your books to see if I can learn any new techniques.

I looked at the book seeing it was Night Falls on Sentinel

"You will prove your worth, I believe in you." I said letting go of her.

I crouch to pet her fox Bear then walked upstairs to my room. I shut the door and exhaled. I knelt next to my bed and pull out a strongbox. Opening it, I sat today's prophets of jewels and gold in it with the other loot. Over the years, by doing tasks for Companions and Dawnguard as well as doing some bounty hunting and exploring I have saved up quite a lot of gold. As much as I loved Whiterun, I would like to move to Falkreath hold and build a house on a piece of land I bought there. I always admired living in the forest and the land has a nice view of Lake Ilinalta. I love this house, but I would like to find a place where Lucia could spread her wings and explore. I shut the chest and moved it back under the bed. I head back downstairs.

Once in the living room, I see Lucia exiting her room putting her scaled bracers on.

"I'm going to Jorrvaskr to train on the dummies!" She called out heading towards the door with Bear following her.

"Okay. Don't be long, supper will be ready soon." I called out to her.

After she left I began prepping for supper. I grabbed some venison, potatoes, and leeks and began dicing them.

My mind traveled back to the lad I spared. I pray he doesn't do anything stupid. Talos forbid the Volkihar Vampires find him and turn him into one of their livestock. I could not imagine a worse fate than being a food source for a nest of vampires. I still remember seeing how some of the court members treated their cattle by putting them on the table to be drained or thrown into the cages.

Speaking of the Vampires, my thoughts drifted to Serana. It has been 3 weeks since I have last seen her after taking care of a feral vampire cult at Bloodlet Throne. Being a Lady of a Castle must have been keeping her occupied with royal duties. Along with curing my lycanthropy, I became the official peace ambassador for Skyrim while still finding time exploring old ruins and clearing out dungeons and taking care of Lucia. I have also have been in touch with Knight-Paladin Gelebor from the Forgotten Vale. Apparently, he may have found a theory to re-civilize the Falmer. I'm curious to see how that would work.

My mind went to Serana again. I wonder how she has been as of late. Has Velkon been giving her more trouble? Was she doing all right with her mother back? Does she need any help with anything? My mind went to all of these questions. It would be nice to see her again.

When I was done slicing I walked over to the cooking pot and began making the stew. I always loved the smell of venison stew, I could eat that every day for breakfast, lunch, and supper. As I was stirring. I noticed a small pile of letters on the side table I forgot to pick up. I put a lid over the stew and walked over to the table. Most of them were tax letters and one letter from….Serana?

I felt a smile creep up. I open it and began reading.

 _-Kaius,_

 _I could use your help with something regarding an ancient Nordic ruin called Skuldafn up in the mountains of Eastmarch. It looks like an old dragon ruin. The thing is, we were exploring one of the chambers and found a secret entrance leading deeper into the mountain. You have told me how you went through here to get to Sovengarde, so could you help me with this?_

 _-Serana_

I heard the door open next to me and saw Lydia and Lucia entering.

"The food smells good papa" Lucia said checking the pot of stew.

I folded the letter and put it in my pocket. I walked over to the cabinets and got bowls for Lucia and Lydia.

"Lucia, Serana needs my help with a ruin in Eastmarch. I should be back home in 2 days." I said filling the bowl with stew.

"Okay papa, can Serana comeback to Whiterun with you. I want to show her how far I have excelled in training?" She asked.

"I will look into it, but I can't make any promises, Serana is a very busy woman." I said.

"Okay, be safe papa." She said giving me a hug and kissing me on the cheek.

I returned the hug and smiled. She let go and grabbed her bowl of stew, gave thanks, and began eating her stew on the table. I grabbed my helmet and turned to Lydia who was sitting in a chair by the fire.

"Lydia, watch over the and House and Lucia please." I said.

"Yes, my Thane." She pledged and I went out the door.

 **Hey everybody, Sinbad here! Here is chapter 2, I hope you enjoyed it revised chapter 2. I know, I'm late. But better late than never. I will get started on chapter 3 as soon as I able. I don't own anything Elderscrolls, I am just a fan.**


	3. Chapter III

Chapter III- Discoveries

(Serana POV)  
Castle Volkihar

I watched Velkon walk into the center between the tables.

"I have been rummaging through the old archives when I came across a collection of scrolls and an old journal that speaks of ancient in a Nordic Ruin in the mountains of Eastmarch called Skuldafn. This ruin holds a special artifact that once belonged to Vampire cult during the days of the Nord and Flamer War. I am requesting a small group of thralls to accompany me to study this ruin and find out how we may use this artifact." Velkon requested.

"What is the artifact? Vingalmo interjected.

"I don't know, the journal only said that this artifact is in one of the chambers deep within the ruin. The person who wrote this journal died a long time ago. It was a miracle that the pages weren't decayed exponentially." Velkon responded turning his attention to me.

"When do you want your thralls?" I asked propping my head with my hand.

"Today preferably." He replied.

"All right, you will have your group on one condition, I will come with you." I replied.

"As you wish, my Lady." He said as he bowed his head which made me roll my eyes.

"Is there any other requests or issues we need to discuss?" I asked my court. Silence was the response.

"Ok, this meeting is adjourned." I said getting up and leaving.

I left my throne and retreated to the courtyard. As I entered, I took in the beauty of the restored garden. After my mother returned from the Soul Cairn, she wasted no time in restoring her garden. She was appalled at the condition my father put it in, with the destroyed stone architecture to the dead plants and trees and weeds. It surprisingly only took a couple of months to fully restore the beauty of the garden.

I saw the vibrant colors of the various ingredients that grew in the garden. From the bright oranges of the Dragons Tongue flowers, to the blue Deathbells, to the purple Nightshade, to the Blister Warts and Namira's Rot, and the other various ingredients gave the garden its magnificent color. The trees were in full bloom as well.

"I thought I would find you here." I heard my mother as I felt an arm wrap around me.

"I like coming here, it helps me relax." I replied.

"What do you think about this artifact Velkon found?" Mother asked.

"I'm not sure, I think he knows more than what he said. But if its an artifact of the ancient vampires, we better go and get it. It's doing no good if it's just sitting in a empty chamber in a Nordic Ruin. I told her.

"True, whom are you going to choose for this little group to accompany you and Velkon on this little expedition?" Valerica asked.

"I may just borrow a few thralls guarding the outside of the castle. I would ask Kaius if he would want to join, it would make this easier for us, but I'm sure he is busy with the civil war. replied.

I watched my mother perk up at the mention of Kaius. "Oh, I haven't seen him in a while, has he been well?" she asked.

"I guess he has been well, I haven't had any chance to talk to him. It's been 3 weeks since I have seen him. I do wish we could do more adventures like in the good old days." I said.

"Back when you had an insane father and no mother?" Valerica asked with a cock-eyed expression.

I smiled and turned around and hugged her. "No, I am extremely happy that you are here. I do not know where I would be right now without you." I said happily.

I let go of her and made my way to my room "And just where do you think you are going?" I heard Mother asked.

I stopped and turned around. "I need to assign the thralls to Velkon team and get my equipment. You know my Vampire lady duties." I said.

"No, we have to talk about your unpunctuality for today's meeting. What was keeping you? You are never late for the court." She asked.

My mind went straight to the dream with Kaius and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"I just haven't been sleeping well that's all." I replied trying to look at anything other than my mother.

"Serana, are you blushing?" She asked.

I didn't say anything. I felt her hand gently turn my head, so I was facing her.

"Now what has you so flustered?" She said scanning my face.

I sighed. "The reason I was late was that I had a dream." I said trying to make this conversation as short as possible. 

"And what was your dream about that has you so flustered?" She said this time with an amused look on her face.

"I found myself at Eldergleam Sanctuary. I heard someone call my name from the Eldergleam and went to investigate. When I got up there, I found a picnic set up and a man waiting there for me." I said.

"Oh, and what did this man look like, If I may ask?" My mother teased with an interested look on her face.

I gulped. I didn't want to tell my mother that I had a dream about almost kissing the one man that has helped me in more ways than I can count. Truth be told, I have never seen this side of mom before.

"I could not see his face. It was covered by a hood." I lied.

"uh huh?" She said urging me to go on.

"He had set a picnic for me. We ate the small feast that he prepared, and he told me of his adventures and I told him a little bit of mine. He had a gift for me and said I looked beautiful-"

"And you two kissed?" She interrupted with a happy look on her face.

"No, that was when the dream ended." I lied really wanting this conversation to end. Why was mother so interested in this dream?

"Are you sure? Is there any other steamy detail I should be aware of?" She said as she sat down at one of the small tables wiggling her eyebrows.

I was able to stop myself from going to a more explicit thought, but my face felt like it was on fire.

"M-Mother! I cried out mortified at this.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha." I heard my mother laugh. "What? Can I not have some fun with the fact that you are thinking of romance. It's completely normal for a girl to think of her knight in shining armor or in your case, the mystery man. If you have any questions on how to get a man's attention, just come to me and I will help you."

I was absolutely shocked at what my mother just said.

"You know, before your father became obsessed with the tyranny of the sun, he was very romantic and caring. He knew what made me happy and feel special. We would always hunt together and after every hunt we would make lo-"

"If y-you will excuse me, I have to return to get ready for Velkon's expedition." I interrupted ending this conversation. I did not want to learn about my parent's night escapes. I then speed walked as fast as I could away from my elated mother without saying another word.

As I got to my room, I took off my vampire Lady robes and began to put on my armor. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. "Just breathe, the dream is in the past, you may never have that dream again."

I grabbed my sword and some blood potions and made my way to Velkon's lab. He took over Feron Sadri's lab after Ferons death.

"Velkon, are you ready?" I asked. The Redguard didn't respond but held his finger up while working at an alchemy table.

I saw a puff of red smoke erupt from the table.

"And add the giant's toe and a pinch of void salts. And now I need is a powered Draugr tongue and the blood of a vampire." He said to himself.

I saw him grab a small bowl of powder and sprinkled it in front of him Then he grabbed a dagger and cut his hand and let the blood trickle down from his hand into the mixture. He wiped his hand and then dumped the liquid into a big bottle.

"I am ready my Lady." He said grabbing an elven mace. "Let us be off."

When we got outside, we picked 2 bandits, a marauder, chieftain, a Forsworn Briarheart, and a necromancer to accompany us. We have beefed up security after the Dawnguard and I stormed the castle to defeat my father. Since we have been helping clean up the Skyrim of bandits, forsworn, and necromancers we have been using some of them to help guard the castle during the day. We all got on the boat and went to the mainland. 

(Serena POV)  
Skuldafn – 4 days later

It was snowing. The ruins were covered in a light coat of it. I look at the Architecture. It was beautiful in a creepy abandon demented kind of way. I also noticed a lot of Draugr bodies that were littered all over the ruin as well as a dragon skeleton towards the entrance of the first temple. I walked over to it and I found some of the ribs as well as bits of the tale missing.

"Kaius' work no less" I said to myself.

I turned and look towards the first temple. More draugr were littered all over the steps and I could see the door to the temple was slightly ajar. I turned around to the crew and I saw Velkon rubbing the snow off one of the walls and writing notes in his journal and looking at scrolls and journals. while some of the thralls stood guard and looked around.

"My Lady, is that where we are headed?" A voice asked behind me. I turn around and see it was the mage pointing to the temple.

"I don't know, we will see where Velkon needs to go." I replied turning my attention back to the dragon skeleton. "Was this a Legendary Dragon?" I asked myself.

"My Lady, are you coming or are you just that fascinated with skeletons." I heard Velkon yell from the steps of the temple. I rolled my eyes and looked at the Redguard.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back heading up the stairs. As we entered the temple, we saw how wrecked this place was. Draugr bodies were littered everywhere, pots and urns were smashed, scorch marks were on the walls and floors and some parts of the wall were collapsed.

"No doubt the work of your human dog, Lady Serana." Velkon seethed rubbing his hand along a scorched wall. "Centuries of knowledge and ancient language all destroyed in a blink of an eye."

"I'm pretty sure if it came down to saving some old writing or saving your life, you would choose life over knowledge." I retorted.

He snorted. "I would have saved both. Unlike the Dragonborn, I don't destroy everything I touch, or in this case shout."

We explored the rest of the temple as well as the second temple and exterior. We didn't find anything special. All the Draugr we encountered were dead, each chamber seemed to be more trashed than the last, anything of value seems to have either been taken or destroyed. It didn't stop Valek from archiving what wasn't destroyed, but I could tell he was struggling to keep his temper. When we arrived at the base of a tall flight of stairs, we saw more draugr bodies and 2 dragon skeletons.

"ARGHH!" Velkon yelled launching a lightning bolt at one of Draugr corpses. "If, I ever get my hands on that mongrel, I will vaporize him into dust!"

"That is a fight I would not mind watching." I thought to myself with a smile.

Velkon saw the smirk on my face. "Is there something you find amusing about this my Lady Serana?" he seethed.

"You need to calm down, if we can't find this artifact, we can't find it. It is nothing to get upset about." I replied. 

My response made him angrier. "If you cared about our race, you would be as angry as I am, but of course you don't care about our race, you would rather have us on a leash like a dog serving the living."

I rolled my eyes. "What is so important about this artifact?" I said trying to avoid the same argument I have with him every time we have the court meetings.

"From what I have been able to read from the hieroglyphs that haven't been destroyed, this place doesn't have an artifact per se. It is a tomb to an ancient vampire that lived during the Merethic Era. I figured if we find his burial chamber, I will bring the corpse to the castle. Once there I will conduct my experiments and see if he or she could be of use for us." Velkon replied.

"And what if we can't find the body?" I asked.

"We will, according to the journal, it says 'The chamber is buried beneath the dragon staff.' And over there if the dragon staff." He pointed to the top of the stairs. We walked to the top of the stairs and saw a dragon staff in a pedestal and below it, the ground had cracks in the ground. I also noticed a pile ash with decorative purple robes with gold bone trim, no doubt belonging to a dragon priest.

I watched Velkon he flipped through the pages of his translations and the explorers' journal and began reading. He walked up to the staff and grabbed the vial made back at the castle. He uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into the mouth of it. We watched the liquid give the staff a dark red glow as it flowed down. I saw him smile and stepped back from the pedestal.

Next thing I knew, I heard the ground cracking and separating in front of us. The loud rumbling and the separation of the ground was deafening and created a large dust cloud. Once the dust cleared, we saw a staircase that descended along the walls into a chamber.

"Fascinating." Velkon said. He turned around and pointed to the chief. "You there, take the lead."

The chief nodded, drew his sword, and walked down to the stairs.

The stairs seemed to never end. The deeper we descended, the worse I felt. The chamber was pitch black and it somehow felt colder in the chamber then it was outside. "Something isn't right." I said.

"Hmmph, are you scared of the little dark my Lady, you could always go back up and wait for us." Velkon said.

I glared at him trying to resist the urge to push him off the stairs and have him fall to his death. We reached the bottom of the chamber and came across a large stone door.

"And here we are." Velkon said cheerfully.

When the chief opened the door there was a very long hallway. On each side of the walls there were 5 sarcophagi standing up against the wall, and at the very end of the hallway I saw the infamous Nordic puzzle door.

"Great, just great." I said putting hands on my hips. We haven't encountered any claw that could open this door. I turn to see Velkon reading the Hieroglyphs while the bandits and mage looked around and the Forsworn walking down the hallway towards the puzzle door.

"Valak." I heard Velkon say.

I turn to him to see what he was talking about. On the wall of stories was a carving of a vampire lord holding a sword facing what looked like an army of both Elves and Nords. As I walked to the next portion of the wall, it showed a very descriptive scene of the lord holding up several heads of both Nords and Elves while standing on a pile of corpses with the sun shining on him.

"Valak was a Lord that could wipe out entire armies, all by himself. According to the hieroglyphs, he was never one to infect others and could use his power to its fullest, even with the sun out. Imagine the power we could gain from his body, we could gain immunity to the sun without sacrificing the sun itself." He said with a big smile on his face. 

"We still have to follow our deal with the Dawnguard, even with the immunity to sunlight, that doesn't give us the right to go crazy with power." I reminded him.

That remark brought a dark look to his face.

"When will you realize that Vampires were made to be masters of the living? We are immortal; we are faster, stronger, and more powerful than the living. And with the immunity to sunlight, our strength will be unmatched. Vampires were made to rule, not to negotiate with the living and do their dirty work while they threaten to kill us if we don't follow their orders. He berated

"I agree that immunity to the sun would be pretty nice, but we need to use that power to help others. Your belief that we need to rule over the living is what makes people afraid of us, it's what lead to the creation of the Dawnguard and other weapons that are specifically made to destroy us." I retorted.

"Do you honestly believe that the Dawnguard is just sitting idly by while we do their dirty work. They are still creating weapons that will kill us. We are just waiting for a knife in the back. I say we use Valak's body to prepare ourselves for the inevitable. Because when we are no longer of use to the Dawnguard, they will storm the castle again, only this time, they will kill all of us! Even you and your mother! If you don't believe that, you are unbearably naïve." He replied irately.

"I am not naïve. I don't trust the Dawnguard, but I trust Kaius. He will not allow the treaty to be broken on both sides. If we gain immunity from the sun, we need to use it benefit the people of Skyrim. Then people will see us not as a threat or some monster, but as someone who can help others."

Velkon was silent only for a moment until a smirk formed on his face.

"You put too much faith in that human dog of yours. Lately, I have been working on a spell that could control Werewolves. Maybe I could test it on your dog and maybe he may be of use to the court by guarding the castles most precious little girl." He taunted.

SLAM!

I pinned him against the wall, my stalhrim sword pressed firmly against his neck, my other hand on his shoulder.

"You will do no such thing. If you as much as touch him, I will end you. Do we understand each other?" I seethed with fury.

That only made his smile grow "I understand my Lady." He mocked.

I was tempted to kill him here and now. Normally I shrugged off the insults he threw but threatening the one person who has helped me the most in my life, made me want to drive my sword through his throat.

Then I heard a stone shifting. Velkon stopped smiling and we looked towards the sound. And the end of the hallway we saw the Forsworn Briarheart looking down at his feet. I realized that his feet weren't parallel to the ground. He had stepped on a pressure plate. The next thing we hear is the lids to the sarcophagi bust open. And out came 10 Draugr Death Lords holding silver weapons.

"Oh shit." I cursed.

I saw the Brairheart draw his sword and summoned a flame Antronach and charged at one of the Death Lords. Before he could land an attack on the Draugr, it swung its great sword sideways and sliced the Brairhearts stomach open. The force of the swing made him spin around and land down on his knees. He held his stomach and looked to us. Then the Death Lord speared him through the chest and killed him.

The Antronach was firing firebolts at the horde that was charging towards us. The bandit and Marauder drew their bows and started shooting arrows. And Velkon, the mage, and I started firing magic.

"Fus Roh Dah!" One of the Death Lords shouted. As the soundwave was getting closer, most of us evade except the bandit and the marauder. Both bandits hit the stone door behind us. I heard a loud crack once the bodies hit the door. The bandit was getting up sluggishly off the ground, but the marauder didn't move at all.

"Victory or Sovngarde!" The Chieftain charged toward the crowd. The Antronach seemed to follow him. I saw one of the Death Lords swings at the Chieftain with its battle axe. The Chieftan dodged the swing, moved in, and decapitated the dragur. He narrowly dodges a thrust from another one and slashes at its torso killing it in the process. I fired a lightning bolt another one and the bolt hit it in the face, turning its head into dust. Velkon and the mage were using sparks on another Draugr. "3 down, 7 to go" I thought to myself. 

I drew my sword and charged along with the chieftain. I shoved the sword through the stomach of one of the Death Lords and put my hand on its face and unleashed a lightning bolt into its face, turning it its head into dust. I then felt something hit my ribs, it felt like a little nudge. I turned and saw a head that belonged to the Chieftain on the ground. Then a flash of light appeared. I turned and saw a body on fire. It was the Antronach. I see another one of the death lords look at me and cast an ice spike towards me. I moved out of the way and launched a bolt at it. 

"AHHHH!" I heard a scream. I turned and see the bandit on the against the wall with the ice spike in his chest. I turn back to the Death Lord, but something was different about this one. According to the body shape, it was a woman with heavy armored and had a helmet with multiple spikes. She drew her silver great sword and charged at me. She attacked with a downward strike. I blocked it with my sword, but the force of the strike brought me down to one knee.

"ha ha ha ha." She laughed.

She pulled back and swung right. I rolled out of the way. I launched a lightning bolt and hit the weapon out of her hand. Then she didn't move. She just stood there and spoke something in Nordic. The 5 remaining Lords joined her by her side.

"We need to leave now!" I shouted running to the door.

"We can take them Lady Serana. Why should we run? Use your power to become the Vampire Lord!" He ordered.

"RII VAAZ ZOL." The female death lord shouted. I braced myself for what may ever happen until I felt something solid push me out of the way. The shout impacted the thing that pushed me. I look at what pushed me, and I found the body of the mage in my place. I turned my head to Velkon who was looking at the mage's body with curiosity. 

"YOL!" 3 of the Death Lords shouted. The large ball of fire came and smashed into Velkon.

"AHHHHH!" He screamed in pain. I got up and ran to him. I grabbed him by his armor and began dragging him to the stone doors. As the draugr were turning around, back to the puzzle door, I heard a demented voice call behind me.

"Leave this place and never return." The female draugr ordered. I then slammed the door shut.

I exhaled. Breathing heavily, I look to Velkon. He had burns all over his body. Without the proper treatment, he would die for sure. I grabbed him and dragged him up the staircase. When I finally reached the outside, I dragged him to a nearby hut. I put his body against the wall, pulled out 3 of my blood potions, uncorked them, opened Velkon's mouth, and steadily poured it in his mouth. When the bottle was empty, I put it down and left him alone.

The amount of blood he ingested should bring him up to full strength in a matter of hours. My mind shifted back to the massacre that happened down there. Those were no ordinary Draugr. Those Draugr were specifically there to keep Vampires out of the tomb. They wiped out our entire team in a matter of minutes.

I sat down opposite of Velkon and leaned my head against the wall. I thought back to Velkon said, about that this tomb holds the key to become immune to the sun.

"It would be nice to not worry about the sun draining your power and strength. If we acquire this power, I will do my best to make sure it is used for good." I thought to myself.

I look up at the night sky. It stopped snowing and it was a clear night, the stars sparkling brightly. It was beautiful. From my supply satchel, I grabbed out some paper, a quill, and a small ink bottle. I began writing. When I was finished, I rolled up the piece of paper and tied a ribbon around it.

"Now how am I going to deliver this?" I thought to myself.

"Squeak"

I looked up at the ceiling of the hut and saw a bat. I was a decent sized bat, about the size of my hand. I smiled. I put my hand on the wall and watched it climb down towards me. Once it was on my hand, I tied a loose knot around its feet.

"Take this to the nearest courier." I ordered gently. The bat rubbed its head against my hand and flew away into the night. I then look at Velkon' s unconscious body.

"He is going to be so pissed, when he finds out what I just did." I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

 **Hey everybody, Sinbad 729 here! This chapter had the most errors I have ever seen so far. I was horrible at this. I hope you enjoyed the revised chapter altogether. I will try to have chapter 4 up sometime before Christmas, after finals week. Be sure to leave a review if you like the chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Elder scrolls or anything associated with them. I am just a fan.  
**


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter IV- Reunion

Kaius (POV)

I stood in the middle a field, west of Whiterun, far away from the road and the watchtower. With my eyes closed, I breathed in the cool breeze of the night. Along with the breeze, I could hear the crickets chirping and the rustling of the tall grass in the field. I opened my eyes and looked to the sky. The stars were lighting up the sky along with the two moons adding gold and silver colors to the night sky.

."OD AH VIING" I shouted to the sky and waited a minute.

"ROAR!" I smiled as I saw Odahviing flying from the north and circled me. The dragon landed. "Dovahkiin." Odahviing greeted with a bow.

"Odahviing, I need you to take me back to Skuldafn." I said.

"Why do you need to go back to Skuldafn, Dovahkiin?" He asked.

"A friend of mine was exploring the ruin, and she needs my help." I said impatiently.

How did this friend of yours get to Skuldafn?" He asked.

I don't know how I know she needs my help. I can't help her if you don't help me." I said.

He hesitated. "As you wish Dovahkiin."

I got on his back, and we flew towards the Eastmarch mountains. I looked around on the ground and saw the roads and the ruins, the towers, and castles as well as the towns scattered all over the area.

"Why is this friend of yours in Skuldafn?" Odahviing asked.

My attention turned from the view bellow back to the dragon. "I don't know exactly what she is doing there. She said she came across a hidden chamber there. I have searched every area that was not collapsed in that ruin, it's not possible I missed it."

"It is also not uncommon for Dragon Cults to have secret chambers. They used these chambers for rituals or sacrifices." The Dragon replied.

"I guess you are right." I said.

Things went quiet for a bit, I returned my gaze to the view where I saw the walls of Windhelm as well as Kynesgrove. Negotiations for the Civil War have been going smoothly so far. There is the occasional spat between the two leaders where it could lead to a brawl. The main problem was the Thalmor. It seems as if Elenwyn doesn't want the war to end between the two sides. Her presence alone during these meetings agitates Ulfric and the rest of the Stormcloaks. Hopefully, I could think of something to end this war.

"Who is this friend of yours, if I may ask? What is she to you?" the red dragon asked.

"Her name is Serana. She is a good friend." I replied not taking my eyes off the Palace of Kings."

"Just a good friend? Or is there something more than." The dragon stated

"Where are you getting at?" I asked the dragon

"It's a little strange. You could be using valuable time to end the war or working with your fellow Companions. Yet you push those responsibilities aside to help your friend in her time of need." He stated.

"I always come to my friends' aid when they ask, no matter what. Besides, I'm making progress on the negotiations, and the Companions are doing well."

"Even going as far asking for my help, you rarely ask for my assistance?" He asked.

"Yes. There is no way, except by air, that I could get to Skuldafn. I replied.

Over the years I have known her, I've considered her one of my most faithful friends alongside others such as Ralof, Vilkas, Ghorbash, and Frea. I didn't know what the dragon was insinuating. Our friendship is important to both of us.

I saw that we were getting close to the cloud-cloaked mountains. As we enter the clouds, I felt the temperature drop substantially. I used my wrist to block the incoming snow.

"We are here." I heard Odahviing call out.

I still couldn't see anything in this blizzard. I felt him dive towards the ground the snow dying down in the process. Putting my wrist down I saw what should have been the portal to Sovngarde, but instead, I saw a large dark hole in its place.

'When did this happen?' I thought.

"Odahviing, land below the staircase." I pointed to the staircase below the hole. He flew towards the ground and landed. I got off and took in my surroundings. Everything was so bleak and gray. I could see the old Draugr bodies buried in layers snow as well as the dragon skeletons.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! I heard behind me. I turn to see Odahviing rising and about to fly away.

"Thank you!" I yelled.

He roared in response, flying further west. When he disappeared into the clouds, I turned to the stairs that led to the hole and began my ascent. When I got up there, I saw Nahkriin's staff in the pedestal, but something was different about it. Instead of it being silver it was black with some red liquid flowing through it. I leaned past the staff and looked over the edge of the hole. I noticed a staircase clinging to the wall. As I walked over and began the descent, I saw puddles of blood on the floor and the entrance of the stairs. I grabbed a torch and lit it with a small fire from my hand.

As I descended, I started to notice more puddles of blood along with bits of burnt flesh.

"I need to hurry, if this belongs to Serana, she may be in trouble." I thought to myself starting to run down the stairs. I ran down the stairs. If Serana is need of medical help, I knew some restoration magic, I didn't know how long I could keep the restoration going without getting winded and light headed.

The puddles of blood began dwindling in portions while bits of flesh started to become much more frequent and grew in size. I could see light towards the bottom of the staircase. I blew out the torch and entered the small room. When I entered, I saw that a fire was lit and several empty bottles scattered all over the floor. I also noticed two sleeping sacks around the fire. Also, one of the sacs had a body lying on it. I walked over to it slowly and kneeled next to it. I was a man in black vampire armor that was scorched, leaving large portions of his skin exposed. I reached to wake him

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you." I heard a feminine voice say behind me. I smiled and turned around to see Serana emerging from dark stairwell looking at me with a smirk on her face. I happily sighed with relief seeing that she didn't appear harmed in any fashion

"Are you all right? I saw blood and bits of burnt skin on the staircase." I asked.

"I am fine; the skin and blood belong to Velkon." She said referring to the body I almost disturbed.

"So why are you your here?" I asked as I stood over the fire with my arms out.

She sighed. "We came here looking for a potential artifact, according to Velkon this ruin held a chamber that acts as the tomb to an ancient vampire that was immune to sunlight. He believes that if we take a piece of his corpse and add it to the blood chalice, it could grant us immunity to the sun."

I nodded my head for her to continue.

"We came across this chamber when we used that staff outside. Velkon poured some concoction he made at the castle and it opened this chamber. When we entered, we found this room and that crypt door over there." She pointed to the large stone door.

"Behind that door, there is a long hallway that is guarded by six Draugr Deathlords. We came with five Thralls. One of the thralls activated a trap that released the Draugr and slaughtered all of them in a matter of minutes." She paused and inhaled a shaky breath.

"We have fought Deathlords before Serana, why were these a challenge?" I asked.

"These Draugr are armed with silver weapons, extensive knowledge in the Voice, and are much, much stronger than the ones we have faced" She replied.

I was stunned. "Like they were guarding this tomb to keep Vampires out."

She nodded.

"Several Draugr used a fire shout, and it engulfed Velkon, it scorched his entire body. Bits of his face and flesh fell off his body when I dragged him outside. The fire was so hot that it burned past the skin and muscle, exposing his bones."

I walked over to Velkon and checked his face, but I didn't see the significant damage that she described. His face looked like it hasn't seen combat at all, no scars from the fire.

"I do not see any burns on him" I said.

"I gave him a blood potion to start the healing process. After he regained consciousness, I gave him my remaining blood supply, with the number of potions he ingested he will have no scarring of any kind. Although when he came too, I had to knock him out when he found out I asked for your help." She said with a smile on her face. "When I was sure the Draugr were not going to leave the hallway, I carried him back down here.

"So, you need my help to defeat the Draugr and obtain immunity to the sun?" I asked. She nodded.

"Ok, how do you want to go about this?" I asked.

She had a befuddled look on her face. "You want to help, even though this could violate the alliance with the Dawnguard?" She asked quizzically.

I nodded.

"Sure, I trust you Serana, I know you will do what is right with this corpse. I can see some benefits if you obtain this body."

She looks away and tries to cover her face and I saw a tint of pink of her cheeks.

'Was she blushing?'

"How can you have that much faith in me?" she asked still not making eye contact with me.

"I will admit, the first time we met, I didn't trust you. I viewed all vampires as heartless bloodthirsty monsters that needed to be destroyed. However, you showed me that Vampires are victims, not monsters. You have a kind heart and you worry about others even when they don't give you enough credit." I said gesturing to Velkon. "You are not power hungry, you are not selfish, and you are not arrogant.

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Ugh," We heard. We both turned out attention to Velkon.

"Lady Serana, if you ever do that again I will personally." He began until he saw me. "And like a dog with a whistle, you come running."

"Wait a minute, I heard him say." Sniff Sniff. "You don't reek of dog."

"I cured my Lycanthropy several days ago." I told him. "Why do you care?"

"I could care less about your miserable excuse for a life." He seethed pushing past me and towards the crypt door only to lean against the wall next to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Serana asked.

"We need to defeat those Draugr to get to the tomb." He said taking deep breaths.

"No, you stay here; Kaius and I will take care of them." She said.

"The last thing I want is to be in this mongrel debt and have him destroy anything of importance" He sneered.

"You almost died, and it took all of my blood potions to make sure your burns would heal up." She explained.

"If you would have used you Vampire Lord power instead of running away, we would have killed the Draugr and get a hold of the Valak's body. And not having to call him for help." He yelled.

I grabbed him by his armor, picked him up and slammed him against the wall. He groaned in pain.

"Hey, she is the one who saved your sorry hide, and this is how you repay her? You whine and bicker like a child, while she is trying her hardest to make sure you don't do something stupid and get yourself killed. So, I suggest you shut your mouth, obey your Mistress, and let us take care of it."

He glares at me with those yellow eyes of his. "Fine, I will stay here, but you will come to get me when the fighting is done."

I dropped him.

"Let's go." I heard Serana call.

She opened the door and we went inside. The first thing I noticed was the bodies by the door. One had an ice spike through his chest and the other one was on its side.

"So Valak is this vampire's name?" I said as I drew my battle axe seeing the Draugr Lords kneeling in a straight line, their swords in the ground in front of them.

"Yes, he was a vampire from the first era and during the war between Nords and Elves. He single-handedly wiped hundreds of Elves and Nords and could use his powers at full strength during when the sun was." She said as she drew her sword.

Our walk turned into a charge. The Draugr Lords lifted their heads and stood up weapons ready.

FUS ROH DAH!

Both Serana and I were launched through the long hallway.

With a groan, I got to my feet, as well as Serana. Three of the Deathlords charged at us with their weapons drawn. With my battleaxe, I lunged forward As we got closer, I raised my axe over my head and swung it down, as it came down, the middle Draugr blocked it with its greatsword and the other one on the left swung his sword towards me. I moved back and the Draugr's sword hit nothing but air. The last one of the three swung his greatsword downward, I raised my axe to my block the blow. Then I saw several lightning bolts fly past me. I look and the other two Draugr were heading towards Serana.

I felt the strength from the Draugr push me and I was shoved against the wall against the wall. It brought it swords back and swung towards my head. I roll to the side, and I swung my axe and sliced the death lord into his stomach, When I tried to yank out the axe, it got stuck.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!" I shouted, the fire engulfing his upper body, but it didn't seem to faze it at all. It was still fighting, it was just now on fire. I was able to yank my axe out of his gut, brought up my axe up over my head, and sliced downwards. The force of my axe sliced it down from its shoulder. When the axe was halfway through its body, I felt the sword slice my chest piece?

When the axe hit the ground, the Draugr split in two and fell. I was pushed to the ground from its sword strike. I checked my chest piece, where I saw a minor fracture in the chest piece but nothing to worry about. I looked back to Serana and I saw one of the Deathlords on the floor and the other one bashing her in the face with its shield.

"Serana!" I yelled running to the Draugr. Serana regained her composure, grabbed his sword with her hand, and unleashed a torrent of sparks through the blade.

"YAA" I heard Serana yell and she unleashed even more lightning through the sword.

I felt an arrow pierce my shoulder. I moved out of the way towards the wall behind a statue. I saw Serana casting more lightning into Draugr that is started to shake uncontrollably. The ferocity of the lightning was searing its armor and skin. Then it turned into dust and fell. Seeing the Draugr drawing and firing more arrows, I ran and grabbed Serana and pushed her to the wall behind another statue. I stopped myself from shoving into Serana.

"Thanks," She said.

"No problem" I said leaning against the statue catching my breath. Serana was also exhausted look on her face. I looked back to the hallway and the three remaining Draugr were running towards us with their greatswords drawn.

"How are you feeling?" I asked quickly grabbing a stamina potion and drinking it.

"Just a little tired, just give me a minute." She replied as she reached in her pack and drank a magic potion. I peeked around the corner of the statue, seeing the Draugr charging closer.

"We don't have a minute." I said dropping the bottle and pulling the arrow out of my shoulder.

"FUS ROH DAH!" I shouted. The leader put up a ward while the other two were thrown back.

"You have got to be joking?' I said as I charged. We both swung our weapons and they clashed creating sparks. It hissed in annoyance. We swung our weapons downward and they hit the floor. One of her hands let go of her sword and backhands me with enough force for me to put me on my back. She charged and struck her greatsword downward. I brought up my arms into a cross position.

When the greatsword came down, I heard a crack when it collided with my wrists and it knocked the wind out of me. I grunted at the force of the blow. I looked past the Deathlord and saw the other Deathlords getting up and charging. I then heard the Deathlord laugh at me. She then let go of the sword with one hand and her hand glowed with frost magic. As she was about to cast her magic, a firebolt hit her in the face. It screamed and grabbed its face and got off me. I rolled to my battle axe and picked it up.

I saw Serana charged past me and began fighting one of the Deathlords. I dodged a swing from the leader.

"FUS ROH DAH!" I shouted. That sent the Leader down the hall past the other Deathlord that was running at me. It swung its greatsword to the right I dodged it and swung my battle axe, decapitating the Deathlord. I took a deep breath. I turn to see Serana side-stepping an upward strike from a Deathlord and moving swiftly and gracefully and shoved her sword through its back and unleashed a torrent of flames from her hands incinerating the Deathlord's skull.

When the corpse hit the floor, she turned around and let down her hood and took a deep breath and smiled at me. I stood there with my mouth a gaped. She moved with both ferocity and elegance when she fought. With the lighting in the hallway it seemed to make her eyes more golden than usual, she looked so exotic. I was so distracted by her, that It took me for what seemed like an eternity to realize her smile turned into a fearful look.

 _CRACK!_ I hit the wall with enough force to knock the wind out me and fell onto the floor, my helmet falling off as well. In a daze, I looked to my side seeing the Stalhrim armor was heavily fractured and I saw red liquid slowly leaking out of the armor. I look up to see the Leader. Her pale, lifeless blue eyes were staring into mine.

"A Dovahkiin, working with a Vampire? How the mighty have fallen. It will be a pleasure in killing you." It said in a demented voice that sent chills down my spine.

She brought the tip of her greatsword to my face with the intention to thrust it through me. Serana thrust her sword through the side of the Deathlord, moving her greatsword out of the way form my face. The blade instead grazed my right cheek, falling onto the ground. I got up and held my side. The Leader began casting flames at Serana, but she summoned a ward. I grabbed the greatsword and thrust it through her back. She turns to me and punches me in the throat, causing me to stagger. She grabs my throat and begins to squeeze.

I start to choke. Her leering at me, it somewhat reminded me of that Jester I helped with his mother. I lifted my hands to her hands, trying to pry her off me. I began to suffocate, my vision becoming darker with each passing second. I could still see her eyes.

 _SNIKT._ Her grip considerably weakened. Then I saw something emerge from its head and pricked my nose. The sharp object retreated into the Leader's skull. Then she just fell to the ground and in its place stood Serana.

"That's two you owe me." She said as she smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "When was the 1st time?" I asked her trying to get precious air into my lungs.

"When you were on the ground with your arms crossed and blocking a greatsword." She replied.

"I had that under control, I just had to think about my next move." I retorted.

"Sure, you did." She mocked sheathing her sword.

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention at the female Deathlord and noticed something on it. Attached to it hip, was a Dragon claw made of bone.

"Hey, that's the claw we need for the door." She said grabbing the claw

I kneeled, gripping my side. It still hurt and wasn't bleeding profusely.

"Are you all right? You took a nasty swing." Serana said kneeling to my level.

"I am fine, it's not as worse as it looks." I assured her.

I concentrated on my magicika and summoned a healing spell. However, Serana put her hand over mine, the spell dispelling in the process.

"Don't exhaust yourself, let me heal you." She said gently. I did not protest. I watched her hands glow white and she began her process. I have been healed by priestesses such as Danica, but Serana had a soothing warmth to it. It felt peaceful. I stared at her face while she worked. The determined look she had while she concentrated, the way she occasionally bit her bottom lip, looked cute.

'Cute? Where did that come from?' I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking like this. Serana is a friend. You don't call friends cute.

I felt the warmth of the magic begin to fade. I frowned a little how I suddenly felt cold.

"Do you feel better?" she asked standing up and lending me her hand.

I took her hand and stood up. I felt no pain. I examined my side as well as my right bracer, both were fractured, the chest armor worse than the bracer. I would have to repair them when I get back to Whiterun.

"Yes, that is much better. I can barely tell if I've been attacked. Thank you" I said.

"Your welcome." She said with a gracious smile.

We walked past the bodies of the Draugr. When we got to the door, I saw a Forsworn Briarhart lying in pool blood. I watched Serana step over the body, looking at the patterns on the claw, and began to move the rings around. I turned my attention to the wall of stories with Valak. Seeing him effortlessly slaughter these battalions of Elves and Nords made me wonder what made him different from the typical vampire, how every weapon seemed to not even leave a scratch on him. The other hieroglyphs showed him latching on to the Elves and Nords and feasting or tearing and slicing through them. As I got to the end of the story, I saw him crossing swords with a woman with Greatsword. The woman was wearing a multi-horned helmet.

'That was you, wasn't it' I thought as looked back to the dead Deathlord Leader.

The last Hieroglyph showed the woman stabbing a dagger into Valak's chest with the Nords and Elves dispersing. The Nords were heading in the direction of the mountains with the Elves headed to the sea.

"I thought specifically said, come get me, when you were done?" An annoyed voice said behind us.

"Velkon, have you fully recovered?" Serana said turning the last ring.

"After helping myself to one of the bodies of thralls, yes I do feel rejuvenated. Now, don't open the door yet, I need to finish reading the rest of the hieroglyphs" He said.

Velkon walked past me and began writing down notes in his journal.

"I am impressed, you managed not to destroy everything in your little scuffle." He said condescendingly.

I kept silent and rolled my eyes. How Serana has been able to put up with him so long, I will never know.

I heard Serana put the claw in and twisted the lock. When the door opened, we saw an open chamber. In the middle of the chamber, was a pedestal surrounded by several braziers. One of the braziers had a purplish blue fire.

"This looks like the same kind of chamber I was buried in" Serana said. I nodded.

"We need to channel the flames from that brazier to the others." I said as I began walking toward the first brazier.

Push the brazier to its destination, I detected something. In the darkness, I saw something move, but I couldn't see the full form. Then I saw a man in black robes looking straight at Serana and I saw his hand glowing blue. He drew his hand back and launched an ice spike. Time seemed to slow down. I ran. The fastest I have ever run. I grabbed and held her into a protective grasp, and turned my back to the spike. I felt the spike hit the center of my back and shattered and it brought me to my knees with a firm push. I looked down at Serana. Her gold eyes had a fearful expression in them.

"AHHH!" I turned around and saw the mage being held on the ground with Velkon on him. He drew an elven mace from his hip, raised it and slammed down. I turn away. I look back to Serana who was still staring at me. I let her go and stood up. She firmly and quickly grabbed my shoulders and turned my back to her.

I saw Velkon, getting off the body with his mace drenched in blood. He turned to us and walked to the braziers and continued moving them.

"It looks like your armor absorbed the spike." She said examining my back.

"Now I only owe you 1." I joked trying to lighten the mood. She turns me around and I am met with a slap to the face.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" she screamed. I turn my head to her.

"I was not going to let you get hurt if I could stop it." I said trying to calm her down. That only seemed to make her angrier.

"It doesn't matter, what would have happened if the spike hit a little higher, your throat or your head? If you died, I don't know what I would do!" She yelled.

I remained silent.

"You are my best friend, if not my only friend! If you were to die, I would be devastated! Not only me but what about Lucia!? Would you have her grow up without another father?" She berated.

"You know Serana, my life will always be in danger. It is my job to protect those who need it. I have done the same my other friends as well as Lucia. If you were to die, I too would be devastated. I am not going to stand idly by and watch someone gets killed when there was something, I could have done to stop it." I said.

Taking several shaky breaths, she calmed down. I hugged her. I heard her breath hitch, and then it became more relaxed. I felt her arms wrap around my back.

We felt the ground and walls shake a bit. We both turned to see a large stone coffin rising from the ground.

"It's ok." I said. While we hugged, I noticed she smelt like nightshade and vanilla. She smelt nice. We let go and she looked at me.

"If you two are done, I would like some help pushing this lid open" Velkon said in an annoyed tone.

We let go of each other and helped him push the stone lid. Once the lid was on the ground, we examined the body. The body reminded me of a Draugr but, he his skin was still intact, mostly, he was extremely pale, you could see his bones through his skin. He wasn't decomposed at all. He was bald, had a short nose and had a sharp chin. He looked like he has only been buried for several months. I also noticed the dagger from the hieroglyphs in the middle of his chest.

"We will need this to cut off a hand since it was the only thing that could cut him." Velkon said.

He reached for the dagger and tried to pull but it wouldn't budge. He tried again but was unsuccessful.

"You want me to pull it out?" I asked.

"If you must." Velkon said and stepped back. I reached for the dagger and pulled, it wouldn't budge.

" _grunt"_ I pulled again, and it moved a little. I pulled one more time and it came out. When it came out I looked at the blade. The blade was carved beautifully, the carving of a bear on the handle to the inscriptions on the side in the Nordic language. I look back to Valaks body. And I saw bright red eyes staring me. With lightning fast reflexes, he grabs my throat and sits up.

 **Heyo guys. Yes. I am over two months late. The Holidays were super busy for me, barely had any time to myself. I thought Ch. 3 was terrible, this chapter was much, much worse with grammatical errors, incoherent dialogue, and incomplete sentences everywhere. Leave a review if you guys enjoyed Ch. 4. I will try to have Ch. 5 up within the next few weeks. Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is or associated with Elder Scrolls, I am just a fan.**


	5. Chapter V

Chapter V- Hunger

(Kaius POV)

Deep crimson red eyes stared at me. He had a firm grip on my throat, making it extremely difficult to breathe. He stood up in his coffin.

"Kaius!" Serana yelled as she charged at Valak.

When she swung her sword at Valak, he caught the blade and flung her in the other direction. Still staring at me, he opens his mouth, and his fangs and claws extended. I tried to stab the dagger back into his chest, but he grabbed my wrist and twisted it forcing me to drop. He sniffed me and looked at me menacingly. He turned my head forcefully and scratched the side of my neck. I felt liquid running down it. I stiffened when he leaned in and licked my neck. Suddenly, he latched onto my neck and began feeding.

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed desperately trying to get him off me. It felt as if my blood was turning into hot lava and burning me as it left my body. My insides felt cold and began to burn as well. I started to feel very light headed, all my strength leaving my body.

I felt a strong force hit his arm, dropping me on the stone ground. I was so exhausted that I could barely move my arms. I turned my body onto my back and saw Valak jumping on the ground like a rabid animal and staring at Velkon. He launched a fireball at the monster.

"How are you still alive?!" Velkon demanded as he ran to block the exit.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't, my arms felt like jam. I could still feel my blood slowly leave my body. I watched Valak grabbed the dagger and sprint towards the exit. I saw Velkon get his mace ready. Valak jumped in the air, and as Velkon swung his mace, Valak parried the mace, flipped over him, pushed off his back and sprinted down the hallway. Velkon launched several fireballs down the hall.

I tried to move my arms again, able to muster enough strength and push my self up onto my knees. Everything burned inside me, and I felt like I was swimming in the waters around Winterhold.

"Kaius!" I heard Serana's voice cry out.

I watched Serana run to me and kneeled in front of me. She put her hands on both of my shoulders trying to get a good look at the damage Valak had done. Everything to me was muffled. I felt nothing when she touched the side of my face and moved my head. She placed a hand over the bite on my neck. I hissed in pain as I recoiled away from her touch, but she held my head steady. I saw her hand glow, and my cold skin began to warm up.

"Dammit, the archives didn't say anything Valak being alive! You!" I pointed angrily at me. "If you hadn't destroyed the everything in the godforsaken ruin, they probably would have mentioned that he was not dead!

The glowing from Serana's hand faded, and I felt somewhat rejuvenated. She helped me up and threw my arm over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I was too busy trying to save the world from a world-eating dragon." I seethed, too weak to even care how angry he was.

"Enough!" Serana yelled. "Right now we need to find Valak before he harms someone. Where is the nearest town?"

I pulled out my map. "Shor's Stone is the closest."

"I will stay here, see if I can find any more information about Valak" Velkon said examining one of the braziers carvings.

"Then come on. Let's go!" She said. We both jogged down the hall, Serana staying by my side in case if I fell over.

When we got outside, more snow was falling, covering everything in another thick layer of white. I uncorked a stamina potion and downed the whole bottle. Feeling completely revitalized, I stood up straight. The surge of adrenaline had also numbed the pain on my neck.

"OD AH VIING!" I shouted into the sky. A few minutes later, Odaviing appeared out of the blizzard. When he landed, I hopped onto his back. I looked to Serana and noticed she hasn't hopped on.

"Serana, come on. We need to hurry." I said patting on the spot behind me.

"I'm not very comfortable riding a dragon." She said uneasily.

Odahviing turned his head to Serana and sniffed her at first. He then bowed his head.

"If Kaius trusts you, I will let you ride on my neck."

Serana then nervously hopped on, placing herself right behind me and wrapping her arms around my chest.

"Take us to Shor's Stone." I commanded.

Odaviing started flapping his wings, and we ascended. I felt Serana squeeze me very tight as Odaviing took off.

"It's ok, just hold on tight. I won't let you fall." I reassured her. I felt her head nod on my back, then turned my attention to the horizon.

(Valak POV)

I ran up the stairwell and jumped out on to the surface. I inhaled the first breath of the outside world. I felt…free. I looked around this damned ruin, it was covered in snow, and I saw bodies scattered all over the ruin and the steps as well as dragon skeletons. I jumped in the air and landed at the bottom of the stairs. Then I jumped again on the wall of one of the temples and began climbing, trying to find a way out of this place.

I reached the top and saw the view. I could see the Throat of the World, but I also saw cites in the distance that had grown or even sprouted during my absences.

'How long was I gone?' I thought.

I saw a source of light on my left. I felt my stomach burn even more. The Dovahkiins blood was a good start, his blood being full of power, but I was interrupted by that vampire. And I needed more blood.

I jumped very high in the air off the ledge and fell. As I fell, I used the other mountains as landing points, then pushing myself back off and into the air. As I descended by jumping and falling, I closed my eyes and relished in the wind blowing into my face and body. I severely missed this. I opened my eyes and saw the trees below getting closer. I got ready.

When a branch was within arm's reach; I grabbed it and swung myself onto another branch. I sniffed the air; I could smell smoke and cooked meat. I jumped off the branch and began running. As I got closer to the source of light. The smell of cooked meat became more potent with every step I took. I could hear heartbeats in the distance, a lot of them. When I was a few hundred feet towards the scent, I jumped up onto a branch. Then I jumped again, breaking the branch in the process to get higher. When I got to the top of the tree, I looked over to the structure. It was a fort. I detected a large abundance of signs around the fort and within. The burning sensation of my stomach burned even more.

"That fort would suffice." I thought to myself. Then my attention was brought back to the ground when I heard voices.

"Come on. I heard something over here." I heard a male voice calling out.

I dropped onto the lower branches in the tree and waited. After a minute I saw two men enter the area. Both were wearing dark blue armor with fur boots and gauntlets.

"Come on Fjorick. I'm sure it was just an animal." One of the men said. The other man kneeled and examined the branch I had broken. I jumped onto the ground and rolled into a bush.

"What was that?" I heard the soldier who was examining the branch as he drew his sword and turned towards the bush. The other soldier drew his warhammer.

" _. . "_ I heard their hearts beat. The sound was hypnotizing, and my insides burned even more.

"Hello? Who is there?" The soldier with the sword called out as he got closer to the bush. With a growl, I launched out of the bush and tackled the soldier, unable to take the craving any longer.

"AAHHH!" He screamed.

I extended my fangs and bit down. His blood wasn't full of power like the Dovahkiins, by the taste and richness was just as good. As I continued to drink, my eyes wondered at my prey. I could see him trying to pry me off him. He started to become frail, the life draining from his body, his skin turning gray and willowing away. I let go and inhaled, his blood all over my face and flowing down my chest. I relished in the feeling. I latched onto him again, this time he weakly pushed my head away from him, then just dropped his arm.

I could feel my strength returning very slowly, but this one soldier wasn't enough. I let go of the soldier's corpse, who looked like a hollowed out Draugr husk.

"ARTHUR!" I heard the other soldier yell charging at me. He slammed his warhammer on the back of my head, striking me off his fallen comrade. I got on all fours and stared at him. He took several steps back.

"What in Oblivion are you!?" He cried out looking at his fallen comrade. He dropped his warhammer and sprinted towards the fort. I perused him.

"Alert the Captain! We are under attack! It's a Vampire!" I heard the soldier scream up ahead.

When I exited the woods, I saw a large mass of soldiers, with their shields and weapons ready and Dozens of men and women on the high walls and tower with arrows at the ready. The phalanx dispersed in the middle, revealing a man wearing brown and tan armor with a bear hood and a leather cloak.

"Stormcloaks! Are you ready?!" He asked.

They banged their weapons against their shields. "YEAH!"

"Now you listen here you filthy night stalker, this can go two ways, either you can run back to whatever cave or hole you crawled out of, and my soldiers will hunt you down like the rabid dog you are. Or we can put you down, right here, right now. Whatever happens, your head will be on a pike to show the bravery and strength of the Stormcloaks!" He boasted.

I ignored his empty threat, to busy listening to the orchestra of various heartbeat tempos. Some were fast and sporadic; others were slow and calm. They were emphasized by the little emotions in their posture as well as their faces ranging from terrified to arrogant.

"So, what will it be?" the Captain asked.

I extended my claws and charged at the captain. When the archers fired their arrows, the arrows bounced off me. I tackled the Captain and used his body as a shield and rammed him into the phalanx. Once I got through, I threw the captain aside. More soldiers attacked me. I jumped up in the air pounced on one of the Archers stabbing my claws into his leg.

"AAHHH!" The soldier screamed in pain.

He drew his ax and tried to hit me, but I grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

 _SNAP!_

"AARRGH" he howled. I stabbed my claws into his other leg and latched onto his neck. Again, that rush of euphoria hit me like a brick. The taste of it was so intoxicating that I began to drink his blood with more urgency.

I was interrupted by a strong force, ripping me off the Archer and knocking me on to the ground. I spat out the chunk of flesh and got up only to be struck in the face by a soldier with a mace, forcing me to roll back to the ground. The soldier reeled his arm again for another strike, but I swiped at his stomach, lacerating his armor and causing him to grasp his stomach to stop the bleeding.

I pounced on him and bit down, drinking his blood with extreme vigor and watched him turn into a husk. When I let go, I felt multiple pokes from the arrows hitting my back, arms, and head. I heard screaming behind me and moved my head saw a sword thrust next to me. Grabbing the arm, I jerked it over my shoulder, breaking it in the process and slung a body towards two other soldiers.

I turned around and caught an ax blade in my hand. I was met with the menacing glare from another soldier. She tried to yank the axe out of my hand, but I held on with a troll's grip. I heard another soldier charging me from behind. I moved my body to the side, and a spear shoved past me. I grabbed the spear and drove it into the soldier's stomach who's axe I had.

She let go of her axe, and I stuck the other soldier in the jaw with the handle, leaving her wide open. I bit down onto her neck and drank some more. Letting go with a roar, I grabbed the husk and threw it at a trio of soldiers.

I grabbed the spear from the soldier's corpse twirled it around, blocking and parry attacks from more soldiers. I slashed open a soldier's throat, and blood squirted onto my face. I spun again, sidestepping an attack from another soldier, and drove the spear into the center of his back and ripped it out. More soldiers were flooding out of the barracks. I threw the javelin at the incoming group, impaling two soldiers through the chest. Then I was tackled from behind. Then the surrounding soldiers swarmed around me — all of them striking with whatever weapons they held.

Having enough of this, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Able to get on my knees, I was able to break through, forcing every soldier off me. As they were getting to their feet, I grabbed two swords off the ground. I watched the captain pick up his battleaxe and gave me a hateful glare,

Two soldiers immediately attacked from the front. One was swinging her sword for my head, the other swinging her sword for my leg. I blocked both attacks with my swords and locked their weapons in place. I looked behind me, expecting more soldiers to attack from behind. I didn't hear the Captain charge at me until I felt his battleaxes strike down on in between my neck and shoulder forcing me back onto my knees. The force from the strike, pushing my grip on my swords to slip, unlocking the two soldier's swords and they thrust into each of my sides. Then the captain swung his axe across me, striking my head and whipping it to the side. I looked back to him; his face full of frustration.

"What are you?! You should be dead, at least bleeding to death!" He exasperated.

I remained silent as the soldiers around me were looking at each other, trying to decipher why I wasn't dead. I took this chance and charged at the captain. Grabbing his body, I picked him up and tackled him into the thick wood door of the barracks.

I slammed him into the door and held him steady. I could feel arrows pelt and bounce of my back and heard cries of the charging soldiers. I grabbed that infernal dagger from my side and stabbed the Captain in the shoulder very hard until it hit something solid.

"AAAHHH! You son of a bitch!" He screamed

I pushed the dagger a little further, and I left him there, pinned against the door. I turned around and pounced onto another soldier and my fangs into his neck. Like the last soldier I fed off, the richness of the blood and the taste sent me into another high. I felt a small burning sensation on my chest. I let go, looked down, and saw a dragon tattoo begin to appear.

"YAHHH" I heard another soldier yell at me on my left.

I turned and caught her sword in my mouth. I flipped her on the other side and pounced on. I bit into her; then everything went red. I let my primal instincts take control.

In my mind, I tried to remember the last time I have felt the wind on my skin, the smell of trees in the forest, the spray of blood on my face, or the taste of it. How long was I in that godforsaken tomb?

I came back to reality, and I found myself drinking from a soldier's neck, my claws were in his legs, to stop any attempt of him squirming away. I did not feel that immense burning sensation that tearing apart my stomach. After I finished feeding on him, I looked around and found myself inside the fort, the barracks. I saw bodies of soldiers littered all over the floor. Some of the corpses were husks; others were dead from their injuries ranging from lacerations to missing body parts.

I turned to leave the barracks until I passed a mirror. I backed up and examined myself. My form was back to its normal state. I was no longer frail, but muscular with a dragon tattoo on my right pectoral. My skin retained its natural tan color. My features were dulled down, maintaining an average sharpness in my features and short dark brown hair. And my eyes became more human-like, but they still retained a deep crimson color in the iris.

I continued walking until I reached the outside. I saw more bodies littered all over the fort. I heard grunting and heavy breathing. Turning to the other side of the door, I saw the captain still pinned against the door. He was breathing heavily, his eyes were drowsy, and I could see blood oozing out of his wound where the dagger had him pinned. I grabbed his head, forcing him to look at me. When he saw my face, he became angry.

"You Imperial bastard! Since when do the Imperials use Vampires!?" He shouted.

I ignored his insult. With the amount of blood he was losing, he would be dead in no time.

"What is today's date?" I asked.

He looks at me quizzically.

"Do you think you can just ask what date it is after killing my fellow shield-brothers and shield-sisters?! I don't know what Tullius is doing with vampires in their ranks, but when Ulfric hears about this, the Dawnguard will join us and hunt your kind down." He seethed.

Dawnguard? Tullius? Ulfric? What were these things? I grab the dagger and yank it out of his shoulder, dropping him to the ground. I knelt to his level.

"What is the date?" I asked again.

He grunted and mumbled something.

"What was that?" I got closer to him.

He spat blood on my face. I snatched his throat and held him steady. With the dagger, I stabbed into his other shoulder until I heard a small thud.

"AAGGHH!" He screamed in pain.

I let go, and he was pinned to the door again.

"Now, I will not ask again, either you tell me the date, or I will drain you dry and use your cloak as a dinner napkin." I threatened.

"Its 19th of Hearthfire, 4E 204." He grunted.

I nodded. "Who is the current king?"

"There isn't any. He grunted. I was about to ask more until I heard a heartbeat in the distance. _Bumbum_. _.Bumbum... .Bumbum._ I heard it heading south.

He began to laugh. "He is off to warn Jarl Laila. You Imperials will never take our homeland. Ulfric will reign supreme, and we will drive you Imperial bastards out. We will make sure we will hunt down you kind to extinction. We will make sure the Dawnguard are paid and honored when they wipe the Vampires off the face of the world."

"What makes you think I am with these…Imperials?" I asked looking directly into his eyes."

He gave me a confused look. "The war paint on your chest."

I look down to the tattoo on my chest then back to him.

"I was born with this mark as a constant reminder that I am not a normal vampire. You and your soldiers should have realized that." I said.

He was silent.

"If you are going to kill me, do it already. I don't want to be some thrall of yours. I will join my fallen brethren in Sovngarde." He said with a defiant stare.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sorry. You must understand, I was hungry. May you find peace in your god." I said.

And I bit down. He only fidgeted a little, and then he stopped moving. I could feel my strength return. I turn to find the morning sun rising. The warmth of the sun hit my skin. I have finally known what it was like to feel free.

I turn to the husk body of the captain and I looked in his pack. I pulled out a map. I found myself in a region called the Rift. I saw the hold's capital, Riften to the South.

'I need to find myself a home.' I thought to myself.

I yanked the dagger out of the captain's shoulder. I look at the dagger and rub my thumb against the blade. I cut my thumb. " _hiss"_ I moved my thumb away. The cut burned. I put the cut in my mouth.

'I will find whoever made this and kill them.' I thought to myself.

I saw a forge. I walked over there. I saw lots of tanned leather. I looked down at my current attire, which was just a pair of ragged torn trouser. I went to the forge and began making some armor. I made myself a set of hide armor. When I finished putting on the armor, I sheathed the Nordic dagger, took the map, and began walking towards Riften.

(Serana POV)

I kept my eyes closed. It's not that I was afraid of heights, it just not every day you ride on the back of a dragon with your best friend. I clung to his torso for dear life. Every time the dragon either soared up or dived down, I held in even tighter to Kaius. His heart rate was elevated as well. _. ._

"I can tell you don't this often?!" I shouted so he could hear me through the snow.

"Not really, this would be my fifth time riding a dragon! I prefer to walk!" He shouted.

Odaviing dived down a bit and came back up. I heard Kaius's breathe hitch along with his heartbeat. "I am just not a fan of heights." He said shakily. His pulse was racing. I loosened my grip a little and snuggled closer to his back.

"It's ok. I won't let you fall." I reassured him. His heartbeat died down back into a gentle rhythm. We flew in silence for a little bit. The clouds began to clear up. We could see Shors Stone in the distance

Odaviing began to descend. When he landed, we hopped off and looked around the town. We saw two guards patrolling the road and one standing guard at the entrance of the mine. I saw Kaius run to the houses to check if anyone has been killed or bitten. I walked up to one of the guards.

"Excuse me, have you seen anything strange tonight?" I asked.

He turned to me. "No, we haven't seen anything strange. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, just asking" I said and walked off. I saw Kaius coming back from the houses.

"He hasn't been here. We may have gotten ahead of him." He said putting his hands on his hips looking down the road.

"Why don't we take shifts, one of us will watch the row, while the other one rests." I offered.

He nodded his head in agreement and grabbed a stamina potion and a health potion and drank it.

"I will take the first shift; we will switch in three hours." He said walking towards the forge.

I put my hand on his shoulder stopping him. "No. You need to get some rest and regain your strength." I said.

"I am fine Serana. You don't have to worry about me." He said.

"Yes, I have to. You almost died up there. It's a miracle you are still standing from the amount of blood you lost." I retorted.

He tried to walk, until I pulled him back. Now I was standing between him and the forge.

"Serana, I am not playing this game with you." He said as he tried to push past me.

I got in front of him and pushed him back again.

"Neither am I."

He stared defiantly at me and returned the stare. There was silence for a bit.

Realizing I wasn't going to budge he let out a sigh of defeat.

"Ok, I will get some rest."

I smirked in victory and watched him walk to a chair around the fire pit. He sat down, crossed his arms, and leaned his head down. I turned to the road and began my shift.

 **Hey everybody, Sinbad here. So here is chapter 5. Sorry this took so long. I had to get my laptop fixed which took about a month, I dropped it one too many times and the inside was just shattered. And research papers were popping up for the end semester. I will get chapter six revised as soon as I'm able. Leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter and take it easy. Disclaimer- I don't own anything that is or associated with Elderscrolls, I am just a fan.**


	6. Chapter VI

Chapter VI- Bar Fights with Skeevers

(Serana POV)

Nothing has happened. For the last 5 hours, there has been no sign of Valak. The rest of the night was quiet except for the nightly breeze. I watched the leaves fall from the trees and flew as the autumn wind carried them. I could only hope that Valak fed off a wild animal and not an innocent bystander. If people were to find out that Kaius and I were responsible for Valaks attacks, there would be outrage.

My thoughts went to the day of my father's death. I remember the heated debate between Isran and Kaius for suggesting an alliance be brokered between the Volkihar Clan and the Dawnguard. Isran warned Kaius that he is responsible for whatever the clan did if they violated the terms of the Alliance.

I frowned at the thought. Isran would probably order the Dawnguard to attack the castle again but leave no one alive. Kaius would possibly be jailed, if not executed depending on how out of hand Valak gets. The thought of Kaius before the headsman's block strained my heart.

I looked down at his sleeping form and walked towards him. He seemed so calm when he slept. His arms were crossed, he leaned into the chair by the dying fire. I could hear him snore slightly, his helmet on the ground next to him. I could still see the fresh scar on Kaius' neck from Valak. His blood stained his skin as well as the fir of the armor around his collar.

I was able to stop the bleeding, but I was pressed for time. I looked around to see if there were any guards around. I only spotted one guard asleep at his post; no one else was present. I took off one of my gloves, not wanting to cut him with their razor-sharp tips, and gingerly placed my hand next to the scar. I closed my eyes and focused on my restoration magic. I went ahead and took the entire night shift and let him sleep and gain his strength. The paleness of his skin and the glazed eyes he had after Valak bit him was horrifying! He looked at me like he was fading from existence. I was thankful for Velkon in disrupting Valaks feeding. I will have to thank him properly next time I see him. I concentrated on the healing process and watched as the scar slowly fade.

He moved his head into my magic, his neck touching my bare hand felt warm….and lovely. I saw him smile in his sleep. That fluttering feeling returned. I rubbed his trimmed jawline with the side of my thumb. This was the first time I touched his skin, remembering all my physical interactions with him were with my gloves on. Beside his rough exterior, his skin was smooth, regardless of some stubble on his jaw. My eyes wandered to the large cracks on the back of his armor, where he took an ice spike for me. It scared me, him almost dying like that. But I remembered the embrace he put me in. An embrace that beckoned me to trust it because it made me feel safe from any harm. Then my eyes wandered to his lips. I was tempted to graze them with my fingers lightly; wondering was his lips would feel like, what they would feel like against my own.

I needed to stop this. However, my body wouldn't obey my thoughts. I finished the healing on his neck to inspect the bite. All that was left was a bruise. I looked at his lips again. Gingerly, I moved my bare hand to the corner of his mouth. I touched his lips with my index and middle fingers. They were smooth, not coarse and rough. I slid my fingers across his lips, making them part slightly.

I also took in his scent. I remembered he was no longer a werewolf. When did he get cured? How did he get cured? Also, why? He no longer smelt like a dog but smelled like pine and earth. It was…natural for him. I rubbed his lips again, lost in the smoothness of them. The dream came back, but with it came an added scene, where he leaned in and closed the distance between us. Imagining what his lips on mine would feel like on mine. I leaned into him, my lips inches away from his.

I stopped myself.

'What was I doing?'

This was my friend. My only friend, who freed me from the monolith in Dim Hollow, who helped me stopped my father, who was able to treat me with respect not because he was forced to like his Dawnguard brethren or to get cozy because I was a Lords daughter. He respected me because he saw me not as a means to an end, but as a friend, just a friend. He has never shown any romantic interest in me.

So, having these little dreams and thoughts were stupid. If he had shown any romantic interest in me, I would have known about it. It is obvious when a woman catches his eye. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he would gaze a little longer at whatever smitten him. I remember the last woman who he was intimate. Her name was Mjol. It was apparent to everyone that he was smitten by her. I won't be the first to admit that she was beautiful inside and out. She had long blonde hair, pale blue eyes, fair skin, a small nose, a pretty smile and voice with a thick Nord accent. She was kindhearted, always did the right thing, and stubborn as a mule.

She and Kaius complimented each other well. I remembered I was invited to their wedding, but I couldn't go because when the invitation was sent to Castle Volkihar, I was on my way with several thralls to the Reach, weeding out a Vampire who was keen on starting a nest amongst the Forsworn at Hags Rock. When I returned, they never got married for reasons to this day I didn't know.

I backed away from him. He is a friend, and I do not want to mess it up with some sappy feelings. We have a good relationship. If he had and romantic feelings for me, he wouldn't have been able to hide it from me. Putting my glove back on my hand, I walked back to the wall of the black smith's house and leaned there, watching the rising sun peeking through the trees. I put my hood up.

Kaius' face became disrupted when the morning sun shone onto his face. He opened his eyes and began stretching in his chair. I looked away pretending to watch the road.

"Morning." I heard him yawn his joints popping in the process.

"Morning." I replied. "There was no sign of Valak."

I saw him exhale.

"Dammit! We best get to Riften, warn Jarl Laila about the threat Valak imposes." He exclaimed, picking his helmet off the ground.

"I thought I told you to wake me up, so you could get some rest." He said.

"We are not having this conversation again; you needed all the rest you could get. Besides, I can see in the dark and detect life signs, and you cannot." I retorted.

"You also should rest Serana. You spent much energy fighting the Draugr and Valak as well as healing me. We both need to be at full strength to fight Valak when we find him. I don't want you to overtax yourself." He reasoned.

"Let's get going. We need to warn Riften." I sighed and began jogging towards Riften.

I didn't hear him say anything. We jogged in silence. My eyes were scanning everything that moved. Only the Divines knew where Valak was and if he harmed anyone over the night. Moreover, since he was in procession of the only weapon that could kill him, was going to make things more difficult.

We jogged for several more minutes until we saw a fort in the distance. However, something was off about it. I couldn't see or hear any signs of life. And in the air, I could smell…blood.

"Oh, no." I thought.

I began to sprint to the fort; the smell of death became more potent with each nearing step.

"Serana, what is it!?" I heard him call, but I kept running.

When I entered the fort, I gasped. Bodies were littered all over the fort, some with severe wounds or missing body parts and others were turned into hollowed dry husks. Like the life was literally drained out of them. The husks had expressions of horror and agony etched onto their faces. I knelt by one of the husks and turned her head to inspect the soldier's neck. The soldier's neck still had the two puncture holes in her throat like a Vampire bite. Valak was here. There was no doubt about it.

"Serana, what has gotten…by the nine!" He exclaimed.

I watched

Kiaus knelt and checked one of the bodies. "Serana, can a Vampire can do this much.

"Vampires can't do this, even being starved for a long period of time, all it would take is one person maybe two to get us back into full strength, and if we drink that much, it doesn't turn them it a lifeless shell. This wasn't just hunger. This was gluttony." I said while examining the bodies. "This was just senseless slaughter."

"Ulfric is going to be furious when he finds out what happened here." I heard Kaius.

I watched Kaius go inside the fort, probably to look for any survivors. I examined several more bodies, wounds ranging from severe lacerations to broken bones, to missing body parts. Until I came across a corpse with brown armor and a bear hood, knowing it was the captain of the fort. I heard the door open, and I saw Kaius walkout.

"Was there anyone alive?" I asked.

He shook his head. I frowned. I turned my attention back to the captain's body. I crouched next to it, and I noticed a hole in his shoulder, about two fingers in width. It looks like Valak toyed with this one before he was killed. I watched Kaius kneel next on the opposite side of the body, and he bowed his head in respect. I watched him; sadness evident in his posture.

"This is my fault." He said with sorrow in his voice.

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't your fault Kaius." I comforted.

He shook his head."I shouldn't have yanked that dagger from his chest. He should have looked like a skeleton. These soldiers had families, and because of me, their blood is on my hands." He whimpered.

I watched his shoulders began to shake. I moved next to him.

"It is not your fault. If anything, it is my fault. I shouldn't have agreed to go to Skuldafn in the first place. I should have said no to Velkons request." I said.

I could see tears falling from his helmet.

"It doesn't matter if that I didn't know, for every person Valak kills, their blood is added onto my hands. No one should have to die like this" He said as he sobbed.

This was the first time ever since I met him that I have seen him cry. He looked so vulnerable and lost. I felt pity for him. I did the only thing that came to my mind. I hugged him. His sobs turned into shaky breaths. I felt his arms wrap around my body. We stayed like this for a minute or two. I stayed silent as his sobs dyed down.

"We are going to find Valak, and we are going to stop him. We can't save everyone, but we can try to do as much as we can to make sure that no one else suffers this fate." I said, calming him down. We let go of each other and stood up.

"Your right, thank you Serana." He said.

"Hey, that's what friends are for. Now come on, we still need to tell the Jarl what happened." I said with a smile. He smiled back, and we ran to Riften

(Valak POV)

I observed the city in front of me. Well, it was more like a glorified fishing dock. The smell of mead was thick in the air with the minor scent of fish and sewage. It didn't matter. I needed answers on what has transpired since I was last awake. When I was about to open the door, a guard stopped me.

"Hold there, before I let you into the city, you need to pay a visitors tax."

"And if I don't have any money?" I asked.

"Then you don't get in; it's that simple." He said, crossing his arms.

Knowing I didn't have any money on me, I opted for a more straightforward approach.

"I am pretty sure we can come to some agreement," I said, and I stared into his eyes.

I felt my eyes glow. The guard started to look dazed. "Yes, we can. You can get in for free, no tax required."

He said as he unlocked the gate. "Thank you, sir." I nodded and entered the city.

When I got inside, I saw many people going about their business in the morning without a worry in the world. I walked to the marketplace, passing an inn saying, "Bee and Barb." I could see four stalls. One was occupied by a Dark Elf, selling a random assortment of things from weapons, clothes, books, and another miscellaneous item. Another one was occupied by an Argonian, selling custom made jewelry and jewels. And another one was occupied by a Nord, selling armor. The fourth stall was abandoned with large red bottles on the side table connected to the stall.

Curious to see what one of the bottles was, I walked up to the stall and picked up one of the bottles. 'Falmer Blood Elixir. What's a Falmer?' I walked over to the dark elf who was helping Argonian Woman.

"Excuse me, sir?" I said, getting the elf's attention.

After handing the Argonian a silver necklace, he turned his attention to me.

"Hello, my Imperial friend, how may I help you." He asked with a smile on his face.

"What is a Falmer?" I asked, showing him the bottle.

He looked at the bottle with mild disdain.

"From what I can remember, the Falmer were once a race of elves that lived here in Skyrim a long time ago." He replied.

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"War happened. The Nords fought and drove them underground where they lived with Dwarfs until they were betrayed by them. From what I have heard from a share of mercenaries and hunters who pass through here, they are blind, insane, and deformed." He said.

I looked at the bottle again, uncorked it, and smelled it. I smelt no blood in this potion.

"Brynjolf used to sell these "rare" potions and elixirs every now and then. Most of the citizens bought his merchandise and found out they were just water mixed with random ingredients." No one has really seen him in a while." I heard him add.

I nodded and sat the bottle on the ground.

"I have one more question if you don't mind me asking?" I asked.

"Not at all." The elf replied.

"Do you have any general history books? Something that can explain what has happened in the past decades?"

Before he could answer, I felt someone bump into me, and I faltered back. It was Nord in gray leather sleeveless armor and wearing a hood with a bow on his back.

"Pardon me." He said as he walked past me and down some stairs.

I cocked my eye and watched him leave. Before he disappeared, I caught a glimpse of a smile on his face.

'What was he smiling about?'

My hand went to my belt, and I felt nothing. My eyes widened, and I looked down to see the dagger was gone. I sprinted after the thief.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw an entrance to what looked the cities sewer. I opened the door and ran down the hallway and through a small room. When I exited the small room, I stopped.

Ahead of me, was a large gap with a bridge that was pulled up on the other side. 'This would not be a problem; I could easily fly to the other side.' I thought to myself.

I walked back and faced the gap. I sprinted towards the edge and jumped. I closed my eyes and tried to sprout my wings. Instead, I smashed myself into the bridge breaking through the bridge and rolling on the ground. I landed on my back. I quickly got up and looked at the hole in the bridge.

'What the?' I thought. I put my hands on my back, trying to feel if my wings grew. I felt nothing but smooth skin. I slammed my hand into the wall, cracking the stone out of frustration. 'Why can I not use my powers fully?'

 _SIGH_

I took a deep breath. "I will have to worry about that later."

I entered the next where I saw a table with some spoiled bread and flat mead on it. On the other side of the room was another door. I entered the next room, which was a wide-open room. Along the sides on my right and left were business stands ranging from a blacksmith shop run by a Nord covered in soot working in his forge, to an apothecary operated by a Breton in blue robes, to a hunting store ran by a Wood Elf, and a trading stall run by a Dark Elf. On the other side of the room, I saw a small dock that connected to what looks like a small bar. I could see some people around the bar.

As I walked past the Wood Elf and the Breton, I could feel their eyes on my back. As I got closer to the bar, a big brawny Imperial with blonde hair in leather armor with his arms crossed. He stared at me threateningly, but I paid no mind to it, I was busy trying to find the thief that took my dagger. When I got closer to the bar, I noticed the other people around where similar armor to that of my thief, only some had long sleeves and different colors.

I walked up to the barman who was currently cleaning a mug. "Where is he?"

"What?" he asked casually.

"You know what I am talking about. Where is the thief?" I asked, tapping my finger on the bar, getting more agitated.

"No one has passed here." He said, going back to cleaning his mug.

"I know the thief is here, and if you value your life, you will tell me where it is." I threatened.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" He cackled. Some of the thieves snickered with him

I was starting to get impatient. Tempted rip this throat out.

"My friend, you really don't know where you are, do you? Now, I haven't seen anyone run by here. So why you don't run along before I have Dirge throw you out." He laughed.

"I'm not leaving without that dagger." I said defiantly.

He nodded. He sat his mug down and gave me his undivided attention.

"Dirge!"

I felt a hand slam onto my shoulder and grabbed my arm.

"All right, pal; it's time for you to leave." A gruff voice said behind me.

Just and he was about to pull me, I grabbed a nearby bottle of mead and smashed the bottle in his face.

"AHHH!" he screamed, grabbing in his face. I grab the back of his armor and throw his to one of the tables. The table was demolished on impact. In response, everyone around the bar got up from their chairs with daggers drawn. I face them, begging for one of them to make the first move.

"This can all be avoided if you just hand over the dagger." I said. I felt barman grab my back and slamming me on top of the bar. I felt a hand jerked my head up and felt dagger slide across my neck. A look of utter shock marred his face when his dagger didn't slit my throat. I socked him in the mouth, forcing him to let go of me.

When I regained my footing, a bald man charged at me with a dagger. I caught his wrist and punched him in the throat. Then I forced his wrist down, stabbing his dagger into his thigh.

"Ahhhh! You Bastard!" He screamed.

I kicked him in the chest, colliding him into another table. I then felt two big arms wrap around me and picked me up. At the same time, a Redguard woman charged at me with her dagger. I head-butted the person with the back of my head, and he dropped me. When the Redguard tried to slash at me, I grabbed her wrist and threw her into the big man. Then the big man pushed the Redguard off him and got into fighting position. I saw he had multiple small cuts on his face as well as a glass shard in his left cheek.

"You think you can just walk in here and start causing trouble and get away with it" He growled.

"All you had to do is give me the dagger, and I would have been on my way." I said.

He threw a punch with his right hand. I brought my left arm to block his punch. Then using my right arm, I smashed his nose. As he grabbed his face, I grabbed a chair and smashed it on the side of his head. He hit the ground with a thud.

I then heard the unmistakable ring of a sword. I turn around to see the blonde Imperial with two eleven swords. "Now I'm gonna cut you like an old woman's purse!" She yelled. I rolled my eyes at the threat.

She charged and attacked me. She slashed with the sword in her right hand and thrust with her left hand. I caught the blade from the slash and dodged the thrust. I yanked the sword out of her hand and grabbed her other wrist and twisted it.

 _CRACK_

"AAHHH!" She screamed, letting go of her other sword. I grabbed both of her wrists and pinned her against the wall. However, that didn't stop her from trying to squirm out of my grip.

"Where is my Dagger!" I seethed. She said nothing but glared at me.

"You thieves are trying my patience." I applied pressure to her wrist, making her groan in pain even more. To scare her, I bared my fangs, showing her what I was.

"I suggest you give me what I want or will make you my next meal." I threatened.

She smiled at me. "And I suggest you let me go before Vekel blows you up."

 _Click_

I turn head, and I saw the bartender pointing something on me.

"If you don't let Vex go and leave, I will shoot you, and there will be nothing left of you to sweep up." He said as he aimed the thing at me.

"So, what will it be?" she said confidence radiating in her voice. I turned back to her and snickered.

I bit down fast. She screamed. I was lost in her taste. The warmth of her blood and the aroma of her skin were very therapeutic. She surprisingly didn't reek like a sewer, by she smelt like blue mountain flowers and honey. The scent even added taste to her blood. I could feel her arms weakly, trying to push my body away from hers. As I drank more, I could see her skin starting to turn ghost white and look sickly.

BOOM! I was snapped out of my daze when an explosion separated us, sending me flying into the water in the middle of the room. My head was ringing, and my body ached. I got up; everything was groggy. I looked down, and the top layer of the armor I wore was in shreds along with my bracers and helmet.

I began to see red. I saw the bartender loading what looked like an arrow into the weapon. I sprinted across the water, jumped over the railing, and tackled him to the ground before he could fire another shot. I punched him in his face and his stomach. I then got off him, grabbed him by his clothes, and threw him across the room, and he collided into the bar.

I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. Once calm, I began searching each unconscious body that was scattered amongst broken tables and chairs. I checked each of their bodies but found no sign of the dagger. I hissed in irritation, slamming my fist on one of the still intact tables.

"WHERE IS IT!?"

"If I were you, I would suggest looking through the crates by the table over here, that is where they stash and fence all their stolen goods." I heard a feminine voice call behind me.

I turned around and saw a Bosmer in purple and white robes sitting a bench reading a book. I look at the pile of crates that were on her left. I walked over there, wondering why she didn't try to fight me as the thieves did. She peeked over her book and looked me over with a gleam of interest in her eyes. I began searching through the crates. I opened one of the crates and saw many items. In the crate were gold and silver ingots, coins, jewelry, and jewels from rubies to emeralds to sapphires to diamonds. The amount of wealth in this crate alone would be able to buy the thieves a nicer hideout than the sewers.

'I may take some of this for the road.'

I opened another one and it as filled to the brim fancy clothes made from exotic furs, velvets, satins, and other materials. As I was rummaging through the crate, I found a handle with a bear carving sticking out. I grabbed it and took it out of the pile, and it looked just like the dagger I was missing. I ran my thumb on the blade, cutting myself in the process. It was the right one. I sheathed the dagger and looked at my current attire. I pried open another crate, and it was full of weapons and armor. I pulled out a leather armor chest piece and ripped off the shoulder pauldrons.

Then I grabbed blood-red satin clothes with black leather pants and put them on. I strapped the chest piece my torso above the shirt. I grabbed a pair of leather bracers and strapped them on my wrist above the sleeves and snatched a long black cloak. I also found a pair of pleated black boots. I grabbed a couple of small bags and filled them with jewels.

After straightening out my clothes, I looked back to the Bosmer who had gone back to reading her book without a care in the world, oblivious to the potential threat I was in the room. I look back to the rest of the inhabitants in the room. The vendors along the wall on the other side were watching me like a hawk, the Nord and Bosmer having their weapons drawn and the Breton and Dunmer with hands on the sheathe of their weapons. None of them made a move against me though, probably more protective over there goods than their comrades. My gaze lingered to the blonde Imperial. She was unconscious. Her skin was a little pale with minor burns on her skin and armor, but she will live. If I wasn't interrupted by the barman, she would have ended up a husk. I walked over to the barman's body and picked up the weapon he used on me

It looked like a bow of some kind. It was fixed on a wooden support and had a groove for a smaller arrow and a mechanism for drawing and releasing the string. It was a fascinating weapon. I took it and grabbed several small arrows off the barman's body.

I turned my attention to the Bosmer. I walked over and grabbed a chair, and I sat down in front of her, I saw her brown eyes move peeked from the pages of the book and looked at me.

"Do you mind if ask you a few questions?" I asked.

She closed her book and looked to me. "No, you may not have a discount. You must pay the full price of 1000 septims. "Although I don't really see why someone as handsome as you would seek my services." She said with a lustful glint in her eye.

I smiled at her. "I am not interested in your services, but I can make it worth your while." I said, tossing her a bag of jewels. "I just want to ask you some questions."

She hummed in amusement when she caught the bag. After stowing the bag within her robes, she crossed one of her legs over the other.

"Then what is it you want to know?" She asked with a smile.

"I need you to tell me every major event that has happened in the last say…30 years." I replied.

 **Hey guys and gals, Sinbad here. I hope you all had a great summer. Sorry I couldn't update the story sooner; I was busy with work, and I was moving so yeah. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to leave a review. I crave your opinions. I have about three more chapters still in the drawing board, and then I can start making actual progress on the story. Until next time, take it easy everyone! Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is or associated with Elderscrolls, I am just a fan.**


	7. Chapter VII

Chapter VII- Rising Tensions

(Kaius POV)

Once we entered the gates of Riften, Serana and I made our way to Mistveil Keep. As we walked, I looked around the city. Aside from the apparent corruption that the Black Briars had in the city, I could see why people would want to here. As we crossed the bridge, my mood dampened a bit when I saw Aerin's House. Its been a little over a year since Mjol and I ended our engagement. To this day we haven't spoken at all. In the months I have been to Riften, taking care of jobs for the Companions and Vampire Hunting, Mjol has done everything in her power to be anywhere where I wasn't. I have tried to talk to her, but my words would fall on deaf ears. Of course, it didn't stop Maven and Hemming from ridiculing me every chance they got. I wished things were back to normal between us. I loved her, and I screwed it up in the end.

"She may think the world of you now, but what will happen if she found out your secret? Will she still love you? Or will she run away? She is a coward, I can see it in her. Cowards don't appreciate true gifts of power, no matter how you use it." A quote from the past echoed in my thoughts. A quote I did not take seriously at the time.

I felt a hand tap my shoulder, snapping me back to reality. I turn my head to see Serana.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asked with worry in her eyes.

I smiled at her trying to mask my depression. "I'm fine. We are almost to the keep."

We sprinted around the marketplace and up the stairs to Mistveil Keep. We barged through the keep doors, finding the Laila talking to her steward with a Stormcloak kneeling before the throne.

When I approached the Jarl, I was stopped by 2 guards.

"Halt! You can't interrupt council with the Jarl!" One of the guards ordered.

"We need to see the Jarl; we have an urgent message regarding Fort Greenwall!" I exclaimed trying to get past or around the guards. I saw Jarl Laila stopped talking to her steward and turned her attention towards me.

"Let him approach." The Jarl said. The guards let me through, and I walked up to the Jarl.

"Dragonborn, you say you have news about Fort Greenwall?" The Jarl asked.

"Yes, my Jarl." I replied as I bowed. "My friend and I were headed here from Shors Stone hunting a feral Vampire. We lost it in the woods. When we were on our way to warn you, we came across Fort Greenwall. All of the soldiers there were dead inside. We have reason to believe the feral Vampire is responsible."

"I am aware that the soldiers occupying Fort Greenwall are dead. This soldier says he's the sole survivor." She said gesturing to the soldier standing on my right.

Upon examining him, he looked exhausted. Like he hadn't slept in days. His armor and gloves were soaked in blood and his face covered in dirt. He looked like a fresh recruit.

"However, you say this feral Vampire was the cause of the bloodshed?" She asked.

I nodded

"A Vampire didn't attack the fort!" The soldier yelled. "I have seen Vampires, and that…monster wasn't a Vampire! It may have acted like a Vampire, but it wasn't one!"

"Soldier stand down." The Jarl ordered.

"No, Jarl! You weren't there. I saw my brothers and sisters get slaughtered by that monster. We had eighty-two soldiers posted there. Eighty-two! And they never stood a chance! I lost my friend Arthur after it pounced on him from a bush and turned him into a lifeless shell! And you can kill a vampire, but this thing took a hit to the head with a warhammer like it was nothing!" He continued to shout.

"Soldier stand down." The Jarl order again, this time more sternly.

But the soldier ignored her and continued. "Nothing hurts this thing. Swords, axes, maces, even arrows won't kill this monster! And what is worse is the Imperials are-!"

"Enough!" the Jarl shouted.

"Wait, what about the Imperials?" I asked.

The soldier stayed quiet and took deep breathes to calm himself. Jarl Laila sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"The soldier reported that the Vampire had an imperial dragon symbol on its chest. He believes that the Imperials have begun using Vampires of some kind in their ranks." She replied.

"The Imperials don't have any Vampires in their ranks. General Tullius would never use them in his military. He would not jeopardize the safety of Solitude, his troops, and Elisif to gang an upper hand in this Civil War" I reasoned realizing how this event can explode politically.

"Then would you mind telling me why it attacked a Stormcloak fort? With the soldiers and the captain dead, we are defenseless if the Imperials attack. Who else would attack a Stormcloak fort than the Imperials?" She asked.

I remained silent. If I told her the reason why Valak attacked the fort, she would ask how I know this, and I would be obligated to tell her that I was the one who awoke Valak and brought death to those soldiers. And the last thing I need is the entire Province hunting me down and throwing me in a cell and probably executing me. I turn to Serana for some guidance. But she shrugged her arms and shook her head.

"Anuriel, send a message to Ulfric. Tell him what happened at Fort Greenwall and ask how we are to retaliate against the Imperials." Jarl Laila ordered.

The Bosmer steward nodded. "Yes, my Jarl."

"Jarl Laila, you can't jump to conclusions when we don't have all of the answers, we don't exactly know if this Vampire works for the Imperials. If General Tullius had this thing in his ranks, it would be assigned to take out Ulfric, not take on a fort in the Rift. He would have ordered it to go to Windhelm and kill Ulfric to end the Civil War. And I saw what damage that this Vampire left. When an Imperial soldier attacks, it controlled and coordinated. This Vampire attacked like a feral dog. General Tullius wouldn't want anything in his army unless he can control it." I said, trying to prevent the Jarl from undermining my progress to achieve peace in Skyrim.

"He does have a point mother; for all we know, the Vampire who attacked maybe was part of a small coven hidden somewhere in the Rift." Saerlund chimed in. "The Dragon symbol on this vampire's chest could have been war paint for a ritual or something."

I turn around to look at Serana to find her shaking her head and rolling her eyes at that statement. The Jarl remained silent for several seconds. I put my hands behind my back and tapped my index finger against my hand. The seconds felt like hours. What she was about to say would determine my current chances at attaining peace.

"Anuriel, tell Ulfric what happened at Fort Greenwall. Tell him everything our soldier said and add in that there is a possibility that this Vampire was part of a coven or clan and not the Imperials." Jarl Laila said.

Anuriel began writing. "Yes, my Jarl."

I let loose a shaky breath and smiled.

'I still have a chance.' I thought to myself.

"I will go to the Dawnguard and see if they can help locate and take care of this Vampire clan." I said as I bowed.

"Thank you, Kaius for the concern. Soldier, you head to the barracks for some food and rest." She ordered.

When we exited Mistveil keep, I heard Serana clear her throat. I turned to face her.

"So, do you have any ideas how to track Valak?" she asked.

"I don't know. I am afraid I will have to go to the Dawnguard with this." I said uneasily as to how the Dawnguard would react once the news reaches their ears.

"Kaius, my friend!" I heard a male voice call behind me. My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that voice.

I turned around and saw Aerin walking towards me. I looked around the marketplace; usually he was practically attached to Mjol, yet she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Aerin?" I said, raising my eyebrow.

"Its good to see you, my friend. How have you been?" He said, extending his hand out.

I shook his hand.

"I have been good as of late." I lied.

"That's good to hear, I heard from the talk amongst the guards, Fort Greenwall was attacked by a lone Vampire. Is this something Riften needs to fear, since you are a member of the Dawnguard?" He asked, worriedly.

"I wouldn't be afraid. Fort Dawnguard is located relatively close to Riften, as well as the patrols in the Rift will guarantee Riftens' safety. I lied assuredly.

I watched him breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods. I was really worried for a second there. Hearing how the Stormcloaks were slaughtered terrified me greatly. At least it's just one Vampire, and with you here, I'd say that Vampire doesn't stand a chance." He praised.

I smiled at his optimism. I was good to hear praise, that most people of Skyrim believed me to be the answers to their problems. I just try to do the right thing. But inwardly, I saddened. Without that dagger, there was no way to harm Valak him physically. I would have to see if my knowledge of the Voice would even the odds against him.

"Thank you, Aerin. I assure that Serana and I-" I began when I saw the door to Balimund's shop open, and out came Mjol. I froze. She still looked amazing as ever. I noticed she was now wearing a set of steel-plated armor and armed with Grimsever, sheathed on her side. I watched her look around the marketplace, possibly looking for Aerin until her eyes went to our direction and connected with mine. She froze like me, but with fear. She began walking in the other direction towards the Bee and Barb, not turning her head back.

Aerin noticed my stare and looked behind him.

"Oh, you haven't talked to her since you two went your separate ways?" He asked, sheepishly.

I only nodded. I couldn't imagine how awkward it must be for him.

"I know I will not get the answer I want, but I have to ask. Why did you two break it off? He asked.

I was about to respond until a voice I despised in all Riften spoke up.

"It's because he had little whore on the side. He couldn't wait to ravish her on his last night of freedom before he got hitched to that cow."

Annoyance began to stir inside me. I turned around and saw Hemming Black-Briar, in all his pompous glory. I despised this pathetic excuse of a man, second only to his corrupt mother. However, Maven was nowhere in sight.

"I heard it was a dark elf. I can understand the attraction. Elves are a very exotic choice as compared to a plain Nord like Mjol." He continued.

That annoyance began to turn into anger. I clenched my fists, finding the temptation of punching him in the mouth very satisfying.

"I was never unfaithful towards Mjol. Don't accuse me of something so dishonorable, you insolent milk-drinker. I growled.

"You would do well to watch your tongue, I could end you with a single slash of my sword." He boasted.

"Oh please Hemming, we all know deep down you are nothing but a coward who uses his mothers' influence to do whatever he wants." Serana spoke up. "I specifically remember a time when Riften was attacked by Vampires, where Kaius and I fought them off with the guards, and you ran away from the fighting."

"I don't recall talking to you wench! If I wanted a use for your mouth, I'd have you on your knees before of me!" He insulted.

Something snapped inside me, I charged him and violently pushed him against the stone wall outside Mistveil Keep. I had my fist reeled back ready to knock his teeth out, until I felt two hands on my arm, stopping me.

"He's not worth it, Kaius. Let him go." I heard Serana say.

I continued to glare at Hemming, who had his eyes closed and his hands up, defending himself against what I was about to unleash on him. The welp was shaking like a scared toddler.

"Kaius…" I heard Serana say again.

I turned around and looked into her pleading, fiery eyes. My aggression began to leave my body. Those eyes could calm a storm if they had the power. I exhaled deeply, calming myself. I threw Hemming to the ground.

"Get out of here." I ordered.

Hemming scrambled to his and ran away.

I turned around and noticed I had gathered a lot of attention from the guards and some of the citizens. Most of the citizens were watching with smiles plastered on there faces. I nodded my head to all of them. They all began talking amongst themselves.

"No one believes you were unfaithful to Mjol, Kaius." Aerin said reassuringly. "Mjol has stated that for the record."

I smiled sadly and silently thanked her.

"To answer your question Aerin, I kept a secret from her. She found out said she would never look at me the same way." I said, turning my attention back to the Imperial. "That is all I will say."

Aerin, like everyone else who has asked me this question, wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Well…I hope you and her at least could be friends again. And I'm sure you will find that special someone." He assured.

I nodded.

"I better get going, it was good seeing you Kaius" He said, and he scurried off to the Bee and Barb.

After watching him disappear from my sight, I turn to Serana, who gave me a sympathetic smile "Does it still hurt?" She asked.

"Not anymore…It's just numb." I replied.

There was a silence between us.

"Come on, let us get somewhere more private." Serana said and began walking.

I sped walked to catch up to her and snatched her hand to stop her from walking. She looked at me with wonder in her eyes. I pulled her back, behind the wall in front of the temple of Mara. Guards usually left the temple grounds alone, giving us a private place to speak.

"Thank you. For stopping me." I said sincerely, looking into those pools of gold. I let go of her hard. "What he said to you was unforgivable."

She smiled and turned head, having her hood cover most of her face.

"I am thankful that you are willing to defend my honor." she said, folding her arms behind back.

"Of course. Men like him should be respectful to others, especially to a woman such as yourself." I complimented. "He's lucky I didn't knock his teeth out."

There was still silence between us. "What do you mean by that?" she shyly said just above a whisper.

"I mean that you are brave, caring, independent, smart, strong, and beautiful." I said without hesitation. Upon realizing what I said, I blush with embarrassment. It was obvious Serana was blushing as well. I also realized the location we were at didn't help the awkwardness. Calling one of my best friends beautiful, not 10 steps away from the Temple of Mara was not well thought out. I opened my mouth to apologize if I made her uncomfortable, but before any words came out, Serana spoke.

"Thank you." She simply said with a sheepish smile.

For some reason, I wasn't embarrassed anymore. I was…impressed on how she reacted. And what I said wasn't a lie, she was beautiful. Fair skin without single blemish that glowed with elegance. Her short, ebony black, braided hair looked soft to the touch. I remembered a fragrance in her hair that smelt like nightshade and vanilla. Accompanied by a cute small nose and pale flush lips. Then there were her eyes. Those yellow and orange eyes were hypnotizing, add an exotic look to her. It's like staring into fire itself. Those eyes would be calm like a small flame and angry like dragon fire. I feel I could get lost in her gaze.

She lifted her head up and looked at me, a blush on her cheeks evident as she fumbled with her hands. Those flaming eyes bore into mine. I felt a subtle warmth spread through my body.

It dawned on me that she was waiting for a response from me.

I awkwardly cleared my throat and scratched my neck. "Yes… Um…Let's get back to figuring out what our next move is for finding Valak."

Serana gave me a confused look as if she had woken up from sleep. She looks away from me, her hood covering her face again.

"Oh, right." She said.

I walked through the entrance gate of the Temple until I bumped into someone carrying a crate.

"Careful, you runt!" a deep gruff voice exclaimed.

I looked, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I was face to face with one of the Dawnguard lieutenants, Durak. Recognition grew on his face.

"Kaius! How have you been!" He said with a grin.

I tried to speak, but my voice got stuck in my throat. My ridged form wasn't helping matters either. As if the nine were displeased with me and hade me literally bump into a person belonging to the one group I didn't want to see.

Durak noticed my nervousness. I felt Seranas presence behind me, and I knew she stopped at the sight of Durak. He looked behind me to Serana then back to me. Then realization came to his face, then as quick as it came, it left.

"What did you two do?" he asked, a frown marring his features. Again, I tried to come up with something, anything to say, but I couldn't speak.

"Does your nervousness have anything to do with what happened at Fort Greenwall?" he questioned.

I sighed, knowing there was going to be no way around this.

"Let's discuss this at Fort Dawnguard, away from the populace." I said, finally finding my voice.

I could see him barely holding back his rage.

"Fine. You better tell the truth to Isran, of I will personally feed you to the trolls myself." He seethed.

He began to walk until he focused on Serana.

"This doesn't involve you, members of the Dawnguard only."

"No. I'm in this as much as he is. I'm not leaving his side." She defied.

I smiled at her voice.

Duraks only response was a grunt. He continued walking with the crate in his arms, Serana and I following him close behind. Only Talos only knew what was in store for me. I just hope we can find Valak before he's lost to the wind.

 **Hey guys and gals. Sinbad here. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave a review, I want your opinions! I was surprised to have this chapter up so soon. I will get started on the next chapter as soon as I'm able.** **Until next time, take it easy everyone! Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is owned or associated with Elderscrolls, I am just a fan.**


	8. Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII- Dibella's Tear

(Valak POV)

As I exited the Ragged Flagon my mind went over everything the Bosmer told me, Skyrim was currently in the middle of a Civil war between an Empire form Cyrodil and a group of rebels called the Stormcloaks. All of this fighting over the right to worship one god. All of this started when the Empire lost to a faction of elves, and the Empire groveled in fear. Instead of dying with honor, they chose to give up a piece of their religion. In my opinion, the Empire should have fought harder for their faith.

In response, a Jarl named Ulfric killed the High King with the Voice. According to the elf, some people claim the King was challenged by the trial of combat, others say it was murder. At least some Nords have a backbone.

Then there were the Dragon Attacks involving the ancient dragon Alduin. Alduin destroyed a town called Helgan, which then sparked numerous dragon attacks and sightings all over Skyrim. That was when I learned the name of the Dragonborn, who set me free. Kaius. The Dragonborn and a dragon hunting group called the Blades were able to vanquish Alduin and his loyal followers. Nowadays, dragons are starting to become a rare find.

Then Kaius vanished from Skyrim for a good two months. He went to an island called Solsthiem after a group of masked cultists attacked him and his adopted daughter.

And last, the most recent event, the Vampire Crisis. Kaius, along with a group of vampire hunters called the Dawnguard, took on a clan of Vampires that were trying to bring a lost prophecy of destroying the sun. Personally, this idea was the stupidest I have ever heard. Blotting out the sun would mean doom for all races. The elf said the Leader of the Dawnguard, a Redguard named Isran, announced that the vampire threat has been taken care of with the help of Kaius.

I tried to ask for more information on the vampire that accompanied Kaius. The elf, of course, didn't know what I was talking about.

"At least things haven't become dull and boring while I was gone." I thought to myself.

When I pulled the lever on the wall, the drawbridge dropped. Noticing the hole, I put through it, I tried to summon my wings again. I grunted, focusing all my power on my back. Nothing happened. I sighed in frustration.

I pulled out the map from my pack. I was able to get the location of several potential hideouts out of the Rift. I needed to get out of the Rift and to somewhere where people wouldn't find me. One possible sanctuary stuck out to me, a fort named Morvunskar. It was up in the mountains, somewhat secluded from society, west of Windhelm. According to the Bosmer, it was known to be occupied by a coven of necromancers every now and then. If there are necromancers, they won't be much of a problem.

When I got to the market, I immediately smelt something familiar in the air, nightshade, and vanilla. I scanned the market place and saw on the other side of the market was Kaius and his vampire friend talking to an angry Orc. I stepped back down the stairs and inwardly cursed.

'Why were they here? Have they found me?' I thought.

I walked back up and noticed them walking towards the exit. I passed through the marketplace and stopped at the side of the 'Bee and Bard' and saw them exit the city. I let loose a sigh. From the corner of my eye, I saw a pair of guards walked behind me.

"Looks like the Dragonborn is off to get the Dawnguard." One of them said.

"Good, after hearing what happened at For Greenwall, we are going to need them. Hard to believe that only one soldier survived that massacre." The other guard replied.

"Do you believe what he said? About weapons not killing it?"

"I hope that not the case. Hopefully, we can get our hands on a crossbow, I wonder what kind of damage one of those explosive bolts can do to a Vampire."

'Those bolts didn't do anything but made me angry.' I thought to myself.

"I would love to see that as well. For now, we should begin checking the travelers who come here, to see if they have been infected." I heard one of the guards says.

They eventually got out of earshot. I began to think of a plan on how to get to Morvunskar. I couldn't use a carriage; carriage drivers would gossip to the wrong crowd. The same goes for buying a horse. I will have to leave the city under the guise of night. For the time being, I needed somewhere quiet to rest. I noticed the building close to the entrance of the town. 'Haelgas Bunkhouse.' Surely, they would have a spare bed.

I entered the bunkhouse. No one was there except a young Nord with fiery red hair in a red and blue bar-maid dress, who was currently on her knees, scrubbing a section of the floors.

"Excuse me." I said, getting her attention.

She stopped scrubbing and looks up to see me. I saw her eyes widen.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear come in." She said, coming to the counter.

Upon closer inspection of the girl, I noticed how tired the girl looked. Her eyes were blood-shot with bags under them. I then saw an amulet of Mara around her neck.

"I would like a bed, just for a few hours." I said.

"Sorry, but aunt Haelga only wants working men and women sleeping bunkhouse." She said.

"I can pay if that is what you want." I said, pulling out the bag of gems.

"It's not that, it's just aunt Haelgas policy." She said.

"I just want a place where it's quiet, I will rest for a few hours then I will leave. Please." I begged.

She sighed. "You can sleep in my room, just try to avoid my aunt if you see her."

I nodded in understanding.

"Follow me, and I will show you to my room." She said. "You can sleep there."

As I followed her, I caught the scent of potent lavender, mixed in with honey, fruit-scented oils. It would have smelt nice if it didn't seep through the door with the force of a snowstorm.

"Has anyone stopped by to court you?" I commented regarding her amulet.

"Mmmm. Oh, no, I am already seeing someone. I still wear this for Lady Mara's guidance. She said.

I hummed in acknowledgment. "He must be a lucky man, courting such a lovely woman."

I could see she was blushing at my words, her ears turning bright red, but she remained silent. After we passed some beds, she opened a door on the far side of the room. When I entered the room, I looked around. I liked it, a place where I can rest for a bit before nightfall. I turned around to the girl.

"Thank you, this is exactly what I need." I said.

"Your welcome, you seem like a decent person, and you haven't acted indecorously towards me. Enjoy the bed." She replied as she began to leave.

"Hey, wait." I cried.

She stopped and turned to me. I tossed her one the bags of gems.

"Consider this as thanks. Go buy yourself something nice." I said.

She looked surprised. She opened the bag, and I saw her eyes widen exponentially. She quickly composed herself and nodded.

"Thank you, sir."

She closed the door. I sat on the bed. It would do. The girl's scent was all over the place, but it was a pleasant scent of dragon's tongue and her bedroom simple and secluded. I laid down on the bed to fall asleep, today has been eventful, to say the least.

(Kaius POV)

Serana and I entered the gates of the fort. Vori stood on the balcony.

"Hey Durak, did you get the Black-Briar reserve I asked for she called out."

She then noticed me.

"Oh, hello Kaius! How are you!?" She called out in a friendly tone.

I plastered a smile on. "I'm doing well, Vori."

"Vori, I need you to gather everyone outside of the fort to the entrance. The Inner Circle will be having a meeting in the great hall!" Durak ordered.

"Yes, sir!" She called out and began to run to gather the other members.

I internally thanked Durak for not tell Vori of recent events. As we got closer to the entrance, I began to get irritated. I saw this as a waste of time. Valak is still out there doing only gods know what. He could be in an entirely different region of Skyrim by now. I need this to be quick, so Isran could deploy his scouts, and we can start hunting Valak. When we neared the doors, I saw some members of the Dawnguards outer circle gathered at the entrance.

"You will wait outside until you are summoned." Durak stated, leaving no room for debate.

He entered the fort. One by one, I saw other members coming out of the fort. I could only imagine what judgment and fury awaited me behind those doors. Most of the members smiled and nodded towards me while passing by. Then they spoke amongst themselves. I sat down on a nearby rock and removed my helmet. I watched Serana take a seat next to me.

"So, do you think Isran will kill me on the spot, or will he hear what I have to say, then kill me?" I joked.

Serana gave a small smile. "I think it will take the others to hold him back. Besides, you have fought worse than an angry Redguard."

I haughtily snorted. She wasn't wrong there.

"I find this a waste of time; we should be dispatching the hunters across Skyrim to find Valak. He could be in another region of Skyrim by now."

"Well, hopefully, Isran will listen to reason." She stated.

It fell into a comfortable silence between us. I watched the doors to the fort, waiting to be summoned.

"Can I ask you something?" I heard Serana ask.

"Sure." I replied.

"What's it like?" She began, then making sure she wasn't heard by the other hunters. "Not being a Werewolf?"

"Oh yeah," I replied.

"Its like waking up from coma and seeing the peaceful sunrise." I described. "It's like an array of bright, vibrant colors enter your gray world."

"Really? How does it feel?" She asked.

"I feel invigorating! Like you could take on a troll with just your bare hands! I could enjoy life's pleasures more vividly. It's really numbing to be a Werewolf; everything gets grey after a while." I exclaimed.

"Well, I'd say it suits you. You no longer smell like a dog or have fur coming out of your eyes." Serana joked.

"Ha! Yeah. I had to always pin the smell of Lucia's fox." I laughed.

"But in all seriousness, I am happy for you. I could easily tell something was different about you. You seem more alive."

"I thought it was time. I rarely had to call upon my wolf-blood over the past few months…"

"If I may ask, why did you choose to get cured?"

It took me a moment to reply. There were numerous reasons I could give, bedsides physical and spiritual health. Deep down, though, I knew why I did it.

"I got cured because-" I began until the door opened, revealing Celann.

"Kaius, they are ready!" He called out.

I turned back my attention back to Serana.

"Wish me luck?" I joked.

"Good luck." She joked back.

I ascended the stairs and passed Celann. He had a look of disappointment on his face.

"I pray that you can fix this." He whispered.

"As do I." I said, walking through the entrance.

I entered the hall, and I found Isran, Gunmar, Florentius, Sorine, and Durak in the entrance chamber with the gates up behind them. I heard Celann close the doors behind me. When I came before them, blinding energy shined from the floor.

"Do you really have to do that? I always make sure I have a potion on me. I am not infected." I said, covering my eyes from the bright light.

"You always tend to make stupid choices, especially when it comes to vampires. I wouldn't be surprised if you start letting them feed on you and infect you. "Isran seethed as the light died down.

I put my hand down. I could already tell that it took every fiber of Iran's being to not tackle me to the ground and kill me. His jaw was clenched, a vein pulsating on the side of his head, and his eyes dangerously narrowed at me. I took the time to examine the other member's faces. Like Isran, Durak showed signs of anger and rage. Florentius' expression showed wanted to give me a lecture. Gunmar showed disappointment mixed with a questioning look. And Sorine had curiosity etched into her face, probably interested in Valaks supposed invulnerability.

"Durak has filled us in on what he has heard from the guards in Riften. I want your side of the story on the incident of Fort Greenwall." Isran ordered.

I exhaled a nervous breath

"It all started when I received a letter from Serana, requesting my help clearing out an old Nordic Ruin deep in the mountains near Eastmarch." I stated.

"Vampires in ruins, that's never a good sign." Isran gritted. "What was this ruin?"

"The ruin is called Skuldafn. It belonged to an Ancient Dragon Cult who worshipped Aldiun way back when humans served the dragons. I have traveled there before to defeat Alduin two years ago."

The inner-circle remained silent and urged me to continue.

"When I got there, Serana discovered a secret entrance that leads deep into the ruin. I found her and her court wizard resting, and she filled me in on what has transpired. She, her court wizard, and five thralls were exploring the ruin to find an artifact. This artifact was behind a Nordic puzzle door and guarded by a group of Draugr. She needed my helping in defeating them.

"You and Serana have fought Draugr before, what was the trouble with these Draugr?" Sorine asked.

"These Draugr were Deathlords, and they were buried with silver weapons, not the normal Nordic Weapons. Adding their knowledge of the Voice and their number made them a formidable force to defeat. Her group of thralls was wiped out." I responded.

Sorine nodded her head in understanding and asked another question.

"What was this artifact and its purpose to the Volkihar Clan?"

"The artifact she was looking for was a corpse of an ancient vampire. According to the Seranas court wizard, the hieroglyphs on the wall of stories told that the vampire could use his full power even when the sun was out. The-" I responded until I was interrupted but Florentius.

"You were helping the vampires become immune to the sun!? Not just any nest vampires but the same vampires that wanted to destroy the sun!"

"I wasn't helping the vampires get the artifact, I was helping Serana." I retorted.

"Oh, now it makes sense. It seems that I need to rephrase myself, it seems when it comes to helping _her_ , you always do something stupid." Isran berated.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I chided.

"It means that you are willing to blindly trust one vampire who is in charge of a bunch of other vampires that would probably kill her for the throne in her clan if given a chance with that kind of power. Don't get me wrong, I believe Serana has been a good ally, but trusting her with that kind of artifact surrounded by the company she's with is really stretching that." Gunmar answered.

"I believe Serana should be trusted to handle any artifact that is concerned with the ancient vampires. Just like the Dawnguard gathers their lost artifacts designed to kill vampires." I countered. "Do you think her so incapable of running her court that she can easily be manipulated by them? With her guidance, the vampires won't be a problem, they will be helping the people of Skyrim.

"And what were to happen if these vampires started to use that power for their own personal gain? You think you can risk the potential loss of life with this Kiaus?" Durak retorted.

"We've trusted her, and she has been a beneficial ally to the Dawnguard." I said.

"You are unbearably naïve." Isran seethed.

"I may be a bit naïve, but Serana has earned her right to be trusted." I defended.

"Can we get back to what happened at Skuldafn? We are getting off-topic" Sorine stated.

"After Serana and I killed the Draugr guardians, we entered the main burial chamber. In there waiting for us was one of her thralls under some mind control. After we killed the thrall, we found in the center of a chamber a huge stone coffin. After we opened it, we found the corpse of Valak. Serana needed a body part like a finger as an artifact. According to the wall of stories, the vampire's skin couldn't be pierced or slashed by any normal weapon. The only weapon that could cut his skin was a dagger that was stabbed in his chest. When I removed the dagger, I examined it. I didn't see any magical property. No out of color highlights, nothing. It looked like a normal Nordic dagger. When I looked back at the body, I found a pair of red eyes staring right back at me." I said.

"How was he alive when he had a dagger in his chest?" Sorine said.

"I don't know how he was still alive. Serana's court wizard suggested that he must have been…asleep? We don't know." I responded. "I tried to stab the dagger back in, but he stopped me, grabbing my arm and making me drop it. He then bit me."

I was interrupted by Gunmar and Sorine, who gasped.

"Are you infected?" Gunmar asked.

"I didn't feel sick. I was able to walk around in broad daylight with no trouble." I assured.

"Drink a potion now." Isran ordered.

I rolled my eyes but begrudgingly pulled out a potion, uncorked it, and drank. I had contacted Vampirism before and knew the side effects well, and I didn't feel them at all. When I was done, I showed them the empty bottle. They nodded, satisfied with the action. I set the bottle down and continued with my testimony.

"Serana was able to stop him from killing me. Sadly, Valak was able to escape. We figured he was headed to Shor's Stone, so Serana and I flew there on a dragon. When we arrived there, the guards told us nothing out of the ordinary happened yet. Believing we got ahead of Valak, Serana and I took shifts and kept an eye on the village. There was no sign of him during the rest of the night. When the sun rose, we made our way to Riften. That was when we saw what happened at the fort. The fort was littered with bodies. The strange thing is that most of the bodies looked like withered husks."

"What do you mean by that?" Florentius said.

"Like a person was literally drained of… everything. They looked like Draugr bodies with a bite on their necks. Their skin was a sickly grayish-white with their bones easily showing through, and their face all had expressions of agony and horror on them. The other soldiers who weren't bitten were killed from wounds of weapons or missing body parts. After discovering the fort, we sprinted to Riften and warned the Jarl." I finished.

The head members of the Dawnguard were silent with mixed expressions of worry on them.

I turned my attention to Isran. I could feel him hating me with every fiber of his being with the glare he was sending my way. I could see the normally stoic Redguard struggling to control his anger.

"How was he able to escape? Why couldn't you or Serana or her wizard use the dagger."

I gulped. "It's because Valak took the dagger when he escaped."

Isran tried to launch at me, but Gunmar was quick with his arms and held him back.

"Kaius, do you or Serana know why Valak is invulnerable?" Sorine questioned.

"Sadly, know. If there was any information, I most likely destroyed it my first trip there." I replied.  
"How you could you have done something so stupid?!" Florentuis yelled in outrage.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting to ever go back to the godforsaken ruin! And sorry, I was busy trying to stay alive from Dragons and Draugr and saving the world!" I reasoned, getting irritated at the constant question of why the hieroglyphs were destroyed.

They remained silent for a bit. Until Isran spoke up.

"Normally, for doing such a stupid act and jeopardizing everyone in the province, I would have you executed, and your name struck from the Dawnguard records."

He took a deep calming breath before continuing.

"But I'm not stupid enough to see the value of keeping you alive so we can solve this problem. You are the Dragonborn, your power of the Voice should help us at least even the playing field against Valak. But know this, when this Valak problem is dealt with, there will be consequences for your actions. The Volkihar Clan will also be dealt with as well."

My attention immediately turned to Isran.

"What do you mean consequences toward the Volkihar Clan? They have done nothing wrong." I reasoned.

"No, they were the reason why this whole problem began in the first place. This "artifact" with such power altering abilities violates the alliance. And this artifact has been transformed into a plague upon the land." Isran seethed.

"The Volkihar Clan were just trying to find one of their artifacts. Just like us finding our lost artifacts. Serana would have made sure the artifact wasn't used unjustly." I continued to try to reason with them.

"Serana shouldn't have even considered pursuing this. That alone and the fact his corpse was hidden and locked deep in that ruin, meaning no one knew it existed in the first place, nullifies the agreement." Isran stated, offering no room for negotiating.

I started thinking of Serana and her clan before the chopping block. I couldn't fathom the despair I would feel if seeing Serana's dead body.

"Think of how easy it has been, having an ally help us make Skyrim a better place. The amount of lives we have saved with this alliance is outstanding. If you destroy the Volkihar Clan, your jobs will become harder, and there will be consequences to it. The Volkihar Clan is one of the most esteemed Vampire clans of all time. Sure we will have the occasional rogue Vampire, but with the Volkihar Clan, we do not have to worry about nests of Vampires running amuck in Skyrim." I continued to reason.

This time Isran didn't have an immediate response, listening to what I have said. I noticed Gunmar and Sorine nodded in agreement with what I said. Durak and Florentius remained silent and stoic.

"Fine, I will consider what you have said. This meeting is adjourned." He grunted.

I silently thanked Talos.

"Sorine, send word to our informants and hunters in all the holds, tell them if they encounter Valak, they are to notify us immediately. They are not to hunt him, only track and observe. Explicitly warn them not to engage with him." Isran ordered.

"I will get right on it, Isran." Sorine replied. And she walked off to her station.

"Gunmar and Florentius make sure the weapons, trolls, and dogs are ready." Isran added

"Yes sir," they both said in unison, and they followed Sorine.

Now it was just Isran and Durak.

"You and Serana will wait here. The minute we hear something about Valak, you both will head out. Remember, when this problem is dealt with, you will be punished in some way." He grunted. He left, Durak following close behind.

I exhaled. 'Okay, that went better than I expected. All we have to do now is wait. I just hope that Valak didn't attack anyone else.'

I heard the door open behind me.

"Kaius! You better get out here, Serana is fighting Vori!" I heard Celann call out.

"What?!"

(Valak POV)

I found myself standing on a dead body, a Nord to be precise. I was holding up two elves by their necks. I could feel the small tingling sensation on my arm, and the side of my face as the elf I had in my right hand was casting lightning on me. I could feel the light tapping on my arm from the sword the elf on my left, who was trying to slash it off. I felt the soft flicks of the arrows on my back. It was like little flicks from a finger. I threw on elf on my left to the side and squeezed the neck of the elf in my right hand until I heard a _SNAP!_

I dropped his body to the ground and turned around. I pounced on a Nord who was drawing back an arrow on his bow and bit down. I could see his skin slowly turn gray as I drank. When she became a husk, I let go of her body. Then I felt a light warmth bathe all over my back. I turned around and gripped my hand over an Elf's hand that what casting fire on me. I squeezed hard until the elf was on his knees, screaming. I slashed him across the face then pounced onto him. His blood gushed out, leaked out of my mouth, some of it dripping down my jaw to my chest. As I fed, I relished in the flavor. Personally, I favored elf blood to human, elf blood had something in it that made it sweeter than human blood. I drank with more ferocity until the elf turned into a husk.

"VALAK!" I heard a feminine call out!

I turned around and saw female Nord with a greatsword, pointing the weapon at me. I growled at her, sprouted my wings, and flew towards her. I smiled in anticipation as I got closer. She put her greatsword into a blocking position. When I was in arms reach, I grabbed her sword and pushed her back until she slammed against a tree, her arms shaking to keep her sword from decapitating herself from the force of my shove. I then felt a searing pain and the smell of lavender.

'Wait, lavender?'

My eyes opened immediately from my dream and found myself in the bunkhouse. I stood up quickly when I heard footsteps, and the smell of lavender became very potent. The doors opened to the room to reveal a blonde Nord in a blue dress with a black apron and wearing an amulet of Dibella.

"And who might you be, handsome?" The woman asked in a flirtatious tone.

I immediately put the pieces together that this was that girl's aunt. "I'm sorry. I was just leaving." I said, about to leave. Down below in the main hall, I could hear all sorts of commotion downstairs as well as lute and drum being played loudly.

She closed the doors behind her and seductively walked towards me, making sure her curvy hips swayed with every step. I could see the appeal physically, she was pretty.

"You are not the usual working men in Riften, you think you could just walk into my bunkhouse and sleep without the proper payment?" she asked flirtatiously.

"I did pay to sleep here." I replied.

She got closer to me, and the wave of lavender became more potent.

"All you had to do was ask me, and I would have let sleep here for free and maybe even something else on the side." She said, putting her hands on my chest and running them across.

She gently pushed me back onto the bed. Knowing where she was getting at, I tried to politely refuse her offer.

"Miss, I'm afraid I do not have the time. Its night and I should be traveling." I said.

"Why would you want to go out into the cold night when you can stay with me and be warm and comfortable. The night is the best time to embrace your deepest darkest desires." She said while snaking her arms around my neck and getting closer to my face.

My mind was starting to get hazy. And that burning feeling of hunger slowly crept up in the back of my throat. I have had my run-ins with Dibellas faithful before. I needed to get her off me before I would lose control.

"Believe me, you don't want my deepest desires." I growled as I leaned my head to the point of my forehead was touching hers.

"Maybe I want to see them." The woman said.

"Miss, trust me, you do not want to do this." I said, trying to reason with her. The hunger inside continued to grow.

She then kissed me. I began to kiss back. I felt her tongue rub against my teeth, asking for entrance. I obliged and opened my mouth. Like a snake, her tongue explored my mouth, and then it fought with my tongue from dominance. I moved my hands down her hourglass figure and down to her waist. She brought her knees onto the bed, straddling my waist ae she deepened kiss with more passion behind it. Her delicate hands trying to tug my shirt and robes off.

My lungs burned for air. We separated to breathe. The second I breathed in the fresh air, she pounced onto me, pushing my chest onto the bed. She made sure to push her breasts flush against my chest, giving me a heavenly view of the white globes. She viciously attacked my lips again, shoving her tongue back into my mouth and wrestling with mine. The burning sensation building up even more and my mind becoming hazier in the process. I put my hands on her rear and gave it a squeeze. A moan escaped her mouth. Then I flipped us over, where I was on top of her. I stopped kissing her and looked into her lust-filled eyes. Her breath was heavy with heat. Her heart matching her heated state. I then began to kiss her neck and lightly bit, making her moan even more. I could feel her pulse quicken under my teeth. I swirled my tongue over her pulse, releasing another heavenly cry from the Nord.

Her legs wrapped around my waist, and she began to grind her hips against mine. I growled in response, my senses becoming more heightened, her soft skin began to drove me crazy, allowing my instincts to take over. I let go of her neck and looked at her. Her lustful glazed eyes looked me at me as her hands slowly started to pull the shoulders of her dress down, exposing her undergarment covered breasts.

"You really know your way around a lady's body." The Nord moaned as she grabbed one of my hands.

She then glided my hand and placed them onto one of her breasts. They were soft and warm to the touch. My pawing raised her heart rate, causing her to grind her hips with mine with determined vigor. I leaned down and nibbled her ear lobe. She hummed in contentment then moaned when my other hand snaked up her thigh and massaged her rear through her undergarments.

"Enough with the foreplay! I want more! Please! Give it to me!" she moaned.

I slid my hand from her rear to her inner thigh and massaged her soft skin, teasing her even more and her heart rate increasing evermore. I leaned my head down to her neck and inhaled her scent. My hand slipping under her chest garments and palmed her soft globes while my other grazed her underwear, making her grind her hip even more into my hand. I felt her hands shoot down and rubbed my crotch. Her fingers savagely, trying to unbuckle my pants.

Then I bit down onto her neck.

"AHHHH!" she moaned loudly.

I continued to drink, her moans becoming more vocalized, and her body shook uncontrollably with euphoric release. Her legs squeezed my waist harder, refusing to let me go.

"GRRR," I growled, bucking my hip into her.

I began to drink with hopeless abandon, making sure I got my fill and making her moan with pleasure. The lavender aroma around her added flavor to her blood. I pinched her nipple, and she gasped, her blood increased inflow, and her body shaking violently. I drank, and drank, and drank, lost in the lust-filled euphoria.

When I came back down from my high, I found myself looking down at a husk.

'Oh, no! What I have done!'

I unlatched my mouth from her neck. 'Dammit! I didn't mean for this to happen!' I berated myself. 'Why?! Why could you not control yourself?!' Sadly, what's done is done. The girl will no doubt scream for the guards. I will have to make myself scarce as quickly as possible. I felt sad for the girl, taking away a family member was never my intention. I just…lost control. I got off the Nord and stepped away from the bed. I looked at the Nords body. Just like everyone else I have fed on, she was a hollowed-out corpse. The only difference was instead of agony and horror etched onto her face, it was a gracious smile of contentment. 'At least I was able to make her passing pleasent.' I said, desperately trying to find a positive look on this. I straightened out my clothes, the other bag of gems jingling in my overcoat. I took them out and palmed them. I knew exactly what to do with them. I exited the room and shut the door behind me.

When I descend the stairs to the main hall, I could see the town people eating and making conversation with one another. The red-haired girl was holding a large tray of empty mugs. She noticed me and smiled.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you. "I lied. "Hey, I want to give you this."

She looked at the bag with wide eyes.

"Oh no sir, you have already paid me so much. I cannot take this." She said, shaking her head.

"You will need more than I will. Please take it." I begged. "You work yourself to the bone, surely you deserve more.

She contemplated my words for a bit until she sighed.

"Okay, sir, I still think this is completely unnecessary." She said.

"No, it is. You'll need it more than I ever will." I said, giving her the bag in her free hand.

She gave me a questionable look, trying to decipher what I meant by that.

"Where are you headed? Surely it would be safer to stay the night, and leave in the morning." She said.

"I'm headed North, I have a home there. I would like to get home sooner than later." I responded.

"Well, I hope you have a nice rest of your evening, sir. If you are ever in Riften, be sure stop by." She said. "And, thank you so much."

"You have a pleasant evening as well, miss." I replied.

She then returned to her duties, and I walked through the door. Guilt began to eat at me. I hope her life from this point on is full of happiness. The best thing I could do now is getting out of Riften.

"AAAHHH! GUARDS HELP!"

I heard a blood-curdling cry from the bunkhouse just as I was about to exit the city. I watch the gate guards leave their posts and sprinted to see what the commotion was about. I swiftly exited the town, giving the red-haired girl one final prayer of good fortune.

 **Hey everybody, Sinbad here! So here is chapter 8 . I hope you all enjoyed another entry of VHDS. I have one more section left of the revision process, then I can start making progress on this story. Be sure to leave a review. I will get started on the next chapter as soon as I'm able. Until next time everyone, take it easy. Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is owned or associated with The Elder Scrolls, I am just a fan.**


	9. Chapter IX

Chapter IX- Drunken Feelings

(Serana POV)

It has been twenty minutes since Kaius enter Fort Dawnguard. Celann guarded the door with his arms crossed, not letting any of the hunters or myself near the door. I have resulted to observing Kaius' helmet. After accepting the fact that Celann wasn't going to give them any details about what going on, the hunters retreated to the fire pit. After my father was defeated, Kaius saw to it personally to escort the refugees to a new home where they could live in safety. He knew of several empty houses in the Reach that could use a family or two. After they left, the Dawnguard have used the fire pit to as a recreational area. One of the hunters cracked open the cask of Black-Briar mead, and all of them started to drink and be merry.

My "interactions," if you could call them that, have been nonexistent. The hunters tolerate me as someone would tolerate a stray dog, I'm just there. When I'm around them, they watch me wearily, suspecting me to bite them when they are not looking. I understood their fear. Each hunter had their own story of why they joined the Dawnguard, most of them joining out of the need for revenge. But, having helped them kill my father and taking care of the Vampire Crisis, you would think they would be more trusting. Only time will tell if the hunters will treat me as an equal.

With the sun beginning to set, I lowered my hood and removed my gloves to let them bask in the cool breeze of the night. I gently ran my fingers along the Stalhrim helmet. The stalhrim material was cold to the touch, covered in various scratches and tiny dents in the metallic ice. It has seen some wear, and you could see the added patches of Stalhrim to improve or fix the helmet. Kaius could become one, if not the greatest smith in all of Tamriel. If he were to retire from his duties with the Companions and the Dawnguard, I could see him take up the smith trade. It would certainly be less dangerous then clearing bandit hideouts, covens, vampire nests, or dragon slaying. It would be very beneficial for Lucia, who probably prays every day that her father comes home in one piece. 

"Ha Ha, Ha, Ha!" The hunters laughed around the fire, bringing me back to the real world.

"Are you serious? Can you not hold your mead Agmaer. I'm surprised Maven didn't have you castrated on the spot. Scarring her daughter like that, have you no shame?" I heard Vori laugh.

"I don't know what happened. I was waiting for Ingjard, then a pair of Vigilants challenged me to a drinking contest, then everything was a blur. When I came to, I heard a scream, and I found myself tied to a bed and a woman screaming for the guards! I think they put something in my drink!" Agmaer complained.

'I'm surprised he is alive at all.' I thought to myself. 

"And because of your stupidity, you are no longer allowed in the city of Riften." Ingjard chimed in with a smirk as she took another drink of mead.

Agmaer grumbled and began hugging his tankard.

"You know, Agmaer, I could see you and Ingun hitting it off. The little awkward rich girl and the farm boy, a match out of a storybook!" Vori chimed.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha" The other hunters laughed.

"Hardy har, laugh at my expense." Agmaer continued to grumble.

"Lay off, Vori. The pup still has yet to grasp the reality of the world." Ollrod joked, "Besides, you act just like Agmaer whenever Kaius is around."

Now that had my attention. I set the helmet on the rock and crept closer to the group.

I watch Vori take another swig of mead. "I most certainly do not! If I had the opportunity, I would lure Kaius into a room and just go to town." Wiggling her eyebrows at her fellow hunters.

My irritation began to grow. Who in Oblivion does she think she is?!

"For Kyne's sake Vori." Agmaer murmured.

"Vori, whenever Kaius is around, you become the polite little temple girl. You're all talk. I know you have had plenty of opportunities to 'seduce' him while on your hunts. Yet, I hear nothing." Ingjard stated.

Vori just gawked at Ingjard and then composed herself.

"That's because he was involved with Mjol, the defender of Riften. He was even engaged to her. Knowing what Mjol has done for Riften, I respect her. I know not to stake a claim to her beloved. But now he isn't taken. Making him free to approach." She said with confidence drinking more of her mead.

'How can she say something like that?! If I knew anything from the Kaius' and Mjols fallout is that it caused him a lot of pain, if the depressed look of longing he gave to her retreating backside earlier today wasn't enough evidence.' I thought to myself.'

"And you think he is just going to jump at the first chance you start flirting with him? Come Vori. It will take a lot more than that to get his attention." Beleval chimed in sipping what smelt like wine. "Besides, I think he would want someone a little more…elegant." She added.

"Beleval, don't..." Ollrod began until he was interrupted by Vori.

"You think Kaius would pursue you over me?" Vori grilled.

She drank more of her wine before continuing.

"Yes. Kaius is an honorable man who doesn't harbor any prejudices against elves since half of the Nords in Skyrim view my kind with great disdain. Unlike you, I can have a civilized conversation with him. I can hold my alcohol. And I have found out from a reliable source that he has been intimate with elves in the past, so he must have some attraction towards my kind." She finished using her hands to show off her features. 

'This was news to me. And not good news. The thought of Kaius being with multiple women was unsettling in the least. I would like to think that he doesn't sleep around with…'

My train of thought was interrupted when Vori laughed drunkenly.

"Ha, like Kaius would be interested in a twig such as you. He wants a nice, curvy woman that would eat…him…up!" Vori exclaimed.

"Oh, sweet Talos." Ollrod said, facepalming. 

Agmaer just sat there with his mouth ajar in befuddlement. Beleval looked at Vori in minor annoyance before taking another sip of her wine.

"And I rest my case of being elegant. One thing I do know about Kaius is that he doesn't tolerate drunken brutish behavior ." Beleval stated. She then finished her wine. "A man of Kaius' stature would immediately be put off by your foul behavior. I, on the other hand, have a fairer touch and know what the handsome Nord wants."

"Okay! That's enough!" I shouted, making my presence known.

In the process, Ollrod and Agmaer jump out of their seats, Vori fell back off the log she was sitting on, and Beleval dropped her cup and drew her axe. I continued to speak.

"I have seen better behavior amongst my court! That is no way to talk about a superior, especially a man like Kaius! How dare you talk about him as if he is nothing but a piece of meat!" I exclaimed

None of the hunters spoke a word. Agmaer looked to the ground, while Ollrod watched Beleval and Vori. Beleval was still looking at me, but slowly sheathing her axe. Meanwhile, Vori was trying to get back on the log.

"It was just some harmless gossip, no need to get cranky." Beleval stated. "We were just having a debate who would have a better chance of getting Kaius' attention. Me or the drunken idiot."

My fists curled up with anger, trying to stop myself from zapping her.

"It's not harmless when you are talking about your superiors as if you trying to lure them like harlots." I quipped.

"Why does it bother you so much?' Beleval quipped back heatedly.

"It bothers me when you are treating him like some prized stag that is worth hunting. He is already hounded constantly by women. The last thing he needs is you two to vie for his attention. It's pathetic."

"Or is it because you want Kaius all to yourself!" Vori shouted.

"Gods, no!" I stated a-matter-a-factly.

But as soon the words left, my chest hurt for a bit. I focused more on the matter at hand. Vori stood up and managed to walk past Ollrod but had to use Agmaer as a crutch to prevent from falling over. "Liar!"

"You secretly want him! You will seduce him, and he is in your grasp you will use him as your cattle, drinking from him whenever you damn well please!"

I glared at the blonde Nord, my fists shaking in the process. 'How dare she think Kaius is nothing more to me than cattle for me to feed on! I have never, ever, not even considered the horrific thought!'

"Okay, I'd say things are getting a little heated, why don't we just take a few deep breathes and try to calm down." Ollrod said, possibly noticing my stiff form and not wanting a fight to break out. He moved in between us.

Beleval looked to Vori then to me. Not saying a word, she turned around a picked up a crossbow and headed to the small range down the road.

"Come on, Vori, let get you sobered up." Agmaer said, taking notice of my rigid form. 

"She does not deny it!" Vori drunkenly yelled as she tried to rustle her way out of Agmaers grasp. "You'll turn him into a Vampire with how you feed on him! Then with his power, you will stab us in the back!"

I took several breathes, trying to calm myself. I turned my back and began to head towards the rock where I was sitting. Then something hard shattered against the back of my head, forcing me to fall forward onto my knees. My head was pounding like a warrior bashing a shield. I felt liquid run down the back of my head and my neck. Then I felt small shards cut the side of my jaw. A metallic smell filled my nose. I groggily used my hand to check my head. It wasn't bleeding profusely, but the ache that came from the wound still hurt. I got up at my feet and turned towards the hunters. I saw Ollrod and Beleval looking to Vori with wide eyes and mouths agape. Vori was yelling something at me, finally getting out of Agmaer's hold. Her words fell deaf on my ears.

With my anger finally boiling over, I tackled Vori to the ground. I began to punch her face repeatedly. She tried to block my punches, but it was futile. Punch after punch after punch, her face becoming more bruised and bloodied. Her arms were weakly trying to push me off her.

'She wants to see me like an animal. I will show her an animal.' I thought venomously, continuing my barrage. 

All of a sudden, two strong arms wrapped around my torso and lifting me off Vori. I tried to wrestle my body out of the grip, but it held me in place. I even tried to elbow whoever was holding me. As I was pulled away, my sense of hearing began to come back slowly. 

"Serana, stop!" Kaius' voice echoed.

I stopped trying to fidget out of his grasp, letting him carry me away from the fire. I watched Agmaer and Celann help Vori off the ground. The woman had a swollen eye and gashes all over her face. After putting her arms around their shoulders, they sat her in the tent. I looked down at my hands and saw my knuckles were bruised and cut open. 

Kaius brought me back to the rock I was sitting on, sat me down, and crouched in front of me.

"Serana, what in Oblivion happened? Are you insane?!" Kaius questioned worriedly.

I just lowered my head, not wanting to look into his eyes, and kept silent. I heard him gasp, and he used his hand to touch the back of my head. 

" _Hiss_ " I recoiled at his touch.

My head was still hurting like crazy. I looked up to see Kaius examining his hand with my blood on it with wide eyes. He looked back at me and instantly put his hand behind my head, careful not to touch my wound. I then felt warmth erupt from his hand as he began to heal my wound.

"Would you like to fill me in on what happened?" He asked, this time more calmly.

"Vori threw a bottle at me." I stated curtly, again examining my knuckles.

"Want you to give me more information than that? Why did she throw a bottle at you?" He continued to press the issue.

I remained silent. It was still taking everything I had not to grow angry with him. I felt like he was scolding me like a child. I felt the warmth fade from behind my head. Gently he touched the back of my head again. I didn't feel any pain. 

"Serana. I just got done calming down the Dawnguard who would rather see me dead for what I have done. The last thing I need is more infighting between the other hunters and you. I need to know what happened!" He said heatedly.

"She was disrespectful towards you!" I snapped at him, looking into his eyes.

He was taken back by my tone.

"In her drunken stupor, she started boasting that she was going to claim you like some prized animal." I continued. "She dared to relish in your "availability" that she would seduce you the next time you two hunted together. Then Beleval began talking about how she is the better choice. I scolded them, then Vori threw the bottle.

Kaius was silent for a bit.

"Serana. You're not telling me something. You of all people have heard how some people would like to pursue me, and you have lost your temper like that. What else was said?" He asked.

I lowered my gaze back onto my bruised knuckles. I released a shaky breath, trying to calm myself when Vori's words echoed in my mind.

"She accused me of…feeding off you. That you were nothing but personal cattle to me. That I was seducing you, and at the first chance I got, I would turn you into a vampire. That was when I lost it. "I responded, looking back up to Kaius. "I will never do that, Kaius, as long as I breathe. The thought never crossed my mind! I don't care what rumors the other hunters start saying. I just…"

I stopped talking when Kaius gently grabbed my hands. His fingers smoothly glazed over my bruised knuckles. Then they curled underneath my hands and hooked onto my fingers. I felt my chest flutter at this action. I looked back to his face and saw he had a gentle smile. Not a disappointing frown full of worry, but a smile. A soft glow and the familiar feeling of warmth began to spread throughout my hands. Slowly, I felt cuts and bruises on my knuckles heal. The warmth the healing spell was giving was perfect that I never wanted to leave it.

"I know Serana. I know." He said. "I know you would never do that."

Those few words, along with that smile on his face melted away all the negative emotions I was feeling towards Vori. The glow from the healing spell was slowly dispersing. I don't know what came over me next. Whether it was a for a sense of reassurance or the comfortable warmth leaving my body, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, engulfing him in a big hug. I heard him gasp in surprise but quickly wrapped his arms around me. 

I felt the familiar warmth return tenfold. I never wanted to leave its embrace. Then the scent of pine flooded my senses. I nuzzled face closer to his chest. I felt his grasp tighten around me, not becoming uncomfortably tight, but cozily snug.

We let go of each other. I watched him grab his waterskin out of his pack and gave it to me. 

"So, you can wash the blood out of your hair." He stated kindly.

I smiled and took the waterskin. I poured some water on the back of my hair and began to rinse the back of my head. That was when I noticed a Dawnguard member running along the trail, and into the fort. 

(Kaius POV)

"I wonder what Saliah is doing here." I stated. She usually is out in the field hunting. 

Several seconds later, Sorine came out.

"Kaius! Serana!" She shouted, gesturing to come inside the fort. 

I looked back to Serana, and she gave me my water skin back.

"I'll meet you inside." She said, motioning me to move on.

I nodded but lent her my hand.

"C'mon. We go together." I stated with a smile.

She smiled in return and took my hand.

When we entered the fort, I saw the hunter that ran past us talking with Sorine and Isran.

"Saliah!" I called to the hunter, making the Redguard turn around. She gave me a small smile. 

"How have you been? Why are you here?" I asked.

"I could be better, Kaius. I bring terrible news. I was stopping for supplies in Riften when I heard Haelga was found dead in her bunkhouse." She said. 

My eyes widened.

"How did this happen? How is Svana, is she still alive?" I asked worriedly.

"The niece is fine. Shaken up, but fine. I came here because the guards requested my presence in looking into the body. Her body looked like a husk. With two puncture wounds on her neck…" She responded.

I looked to Serana, who nodded knowingly to me. 

"I assume that this is the same vampire that attacked Fort Greenwall. I would like some help. From what I've heard from the guards in Riften, this vampire can't die. Even though I can handle one vampire, I may need your help since you are the Dragonborn after all." She said with a playful smirk. 

"My friend and I would gladly help." I said with a smile.

"Alright. Kaius, you and the girl go with Saliah. See if you can pick up the Vampires trail." He gruffed.

I narrowly glared at Isran regarding Serana as _girl_. Isran matched my glare.

"Let's head out. I want to catch this vampire if the chance presents itself." Saliah announced, heading out the door. 

I broke eye contact with Isran and began following Saliah. My thoughts went back to Svana. I prayed that she was unharmed and that we can pick up Valak's trail. 

**Hello Everybody! Sinbad here. I know I am late. The fall semester was a pain, and I was busy over the holidays. (Got a new job!) This Spring semester will be busy for me as well. I will post when I can. As for the next chapter, I am officially done with the revision process! Now I can continue making new chapters and make some actual progress with this. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to leave a review. Until next time everyone, take it easy. Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is owned or associated with The Elder Scrolls, I am just a fan.  
**


	10. Chapter X

Chapter X- A New Face

(Valak POV)

I made my way further down the road after leaving Riften. I passed a small caravan of kahjiits. The leader was sitting at the entrance of a big tent, counting the gold her caravan possibly made. Three other kahjiits sat around a fire, one of them was cooking something, and the others in armor were staring at the flames. A kahjiit in steel plated armor looked to me. His eyes narrowed menacingly as his hand slowly reached for his mace on his belt. I broke eye contact as I continued to walk, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention.

I continued down a path and walked behind a barn I looked around to see if the coast was clear. I then closed my eyes and concentrated. I felt my skin change, and my claws extend. I opened my eyes and sprinted. As I ran through the woods, I began to think about Morvunskar. By the time I would get there, I would need to feed to rejuvenate my power. The necromancers should be no problem. I hope most of them would be elves. Elf blood is so much sweeter than human or beast blood. Like a patch of wild snowberries with a hint of honey.

I was coming onto a drop-off. I began to run faster. Then I jumped. I was in a free fall. My arms open, and my body was straight. That moment reminded me when I escaped Skuldafn. The wind felt amazing in my face. The smell of the tundra slowly, infiltrating my senses, the bright colors of the trees and the sky and mountains. I loved this freedom. I smiled in delight.

I tried to sprout my wings again, only for nothing to happen again. I growled in irritation.

'Why am I not able to fly? I should be at full strength.' I thought irritably.

I looked towards the ground that was getting closer each second. A glanced at a nearby tree and extended my arms. When I was in arms reach, I swung myself around a branch and landed onto the ground and ran.

As I reached the border of the marsh, my mind lingered back to Skuldafn. I didn't even know why I was still alive. I felt the dagger pierce my skin and heart. I started to get agitated with myself, how I became reckless fighting that battalion that I let a Nord with an enchanted dagger defeat me.

'Where did she even get this dagger?' I asked myself.

My mind went back to the past.

Flashback

I felt a searing pain across my back. I swung my arm back. I hit a body again. I spun around and saw a Nord woman with a sword and dagger. I couldn't see her face, as a hood covered it, and her face was covered with a cloth. What did catch my attention was the dagger in her hand. It was dripping with blood- my blood.

I look over my shoulder, and I saw a large gash across my back. I turned my attention back to the woman. She crossed her sword and dagger. This was the first time any weapon cut me. I became so enraged that I charged at the woman. She spun around out of the way, and I flew past her. When I landed on my feet to stop myself, I felt the same pain from my back on my left arm. I look to it, and a long thin cut was there with a stream of blood oozing out of it.

I was stunned. No human has ever dodged me and move just as fast to cut me while I was in the air.

"Stand down, Valak, this is your final warning." The woman warned as she pointed her sword at me.

I looked around as both Elves and Nords surrounded me, though still keeping their distance. I folded my wings behind my back and put my hand forward together. I saw the woman point her sword at someone behind me then pointed at me. I turned and saw both an Elf and a Nord walking with their swords drawn. When they were within arms reach, I grabbed both of their blades and yanked the swords into them. I then grabbed the handles of both the swords, spun around, and I threw one of the swords at the woman. Then I launched myself at her. She deflected the sword with her sword. Then we collided. The woman coolly stared back at me.

(Flashback End)

 _SSSSSSSSSSSS._ The sound a geyser filled my ears as I ran across the tundra of Eastmarch. The steam from the geyser felt nice when I pasted through one of them. I could see Morvunskar in the distance.

"AHHHHHHH!" I heard a scream. Then the smell of copper filled my senses. I followed to see what was happening. I turned right and ran down a hill and through another geyser. I started to see crimson pools appear in the ground. I stopped and crouched down and put my finger in the puddle and licked the blood.

"Mmmmmm," I hummed.

The familiar sweetness of snowberries and honey touched my tongue, elf blood. I open my eyes, and in the distance, I could see two bright lights, moving further and further away. I began the chase. The two lights turned to the right of a hill. As I got closer to the hill, the smell of the blood became more potent. I turned I saw the lights inside an old shack. I slowly crept along the side, and I heard voices in the shack.

"Please! Don't do this! I beg you!" I heard a female voice plea.

"Well, well. Who would have thought our pest was an tree sprite?" A deep male voice said.

"C'mon Boris, bind her, and then we take her to Fort Dawnguard." Another male voice said.

"I'm telling you, Finn, for all of the trouble she has been, we should just cut her head off. Showing the Dawnguard, the head of a Vampire would most likely show that we are worthy of joining the Dawnguard." Boris replied.

"No, anyone can kill a Vampire, if we capture her and bring her to the Dawnguard, it will show them that we can handle a vampire and not die." Finn said.

"Please, don't take me to the Dawnguard! They will kill me.! Just let me go. I…I will leave Skyrim and never return. Please, I'm begging you!" The female voice pleaded.

"And have you be a problem somewhere else, I don't think so. Boris bind her." Finn ordered.

I heard the jingle of chains being thrown.

"NO!" I heard the girl scream. "I don't want to die!"

"You shouldn't have been careless and gotten yourself bitten then." Boris retorted.

'You think I wanted this!? I have been like this for a few months. I just woke up one morning and found myself starving for blood and cringing when the sun came up. This is a curse! You don't know what it's like, the thirst slowly driving you insane until you are nothing more than some rabid beast! I never wanted this!" She cried out. Then I heard sobbing.

"It doesn't matter. If we let you go, someone may get hurt from your carelessness. Besides, who knows how many people you have already fed off of or infected." Finn said.

"I haven't hurt anyone! I have been feeding off animals! I am not a monster!" The woman cried.

"We know that. How do you think we found you? We have heard rumors in Windhelm of some creature feeding off the livestock in Kynesgrove. As Finn said, it is only a matter of time before you start craving human blood." Boris said.

Then I heard moving, followed by a scuffle. "Ahhhh!" the woman screamed. "Please stop! I beg you! Plea-!"

THUD!

"Boris!" Finn yelled.

"What? Her screaming was giving me a headache." Boris said calmly.

"You could have killed her!" Finn shouted

"Relax, Finn. I only used the pommel. It's not like I bashed her head in." Boris stated.

 _Click._

"Then you are carrying her to Fort Dawnguard. Put this gag on her mouth. I don't want her screaming when she wakes up." Finn ordered.

"What do you think the Dawnguard will do to her? Interrogate her? Behead her? Use her for target practice?" Boris asked.

"It doesn't matter what they do to her. The point is we will be welcomed into the Order." Replied Finn.

"I wonder what our first assignment we will get or if we get to use one of their armored trolls. That would be epic, to watch a Troll tear a Vampire limb from limb. Or maybe they will feed our sprite to one of them." Boris chuckled.

I was starting to get angry. I stood up and walked into the shack.

"So, her crime is trying to survive." I stated, making both of the hunters jump. One of the hunters was a Nord. He wore a full set of iron armor; he had an iron sword at his hip and an iron shield on his left arm. He also had a longbow his back as well as. He was lean with fair skin and short hair. The other hunter was an Orc. He wore hide armor with fur boots and leather bracers. He had a steel mace in his right hand. He was well built, sage color skin, a black mohawk, and a long beard tied into a knot.

"Who are you?!" The Nord demanded as he grabbed his bow and drew an arrow back.

Both of them eyed me with extreme caution. The Nords eyes had more fear than caution in them. The Orc, on the other hand, had a mixture of caution and eagerness in his eyes as he gripped his mace.

"You heard her yourself. She is a victim, yet you are taking her to be executed like a criminal! And before her death, you are going to parade her around like some prized trophy! What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?" I asked, this time more forceful.

"It seems we have another Vampire, Finn. Who else would be out this late at night? That means more fun for us." The Orc cackled. "Now, are you going to run and hide like this one, or are you going to put up a fight?"

"Answer me!" I shouted, starting to get irritated with them treating me like an illiterate savage.

"We aren't going to decide whether she lives or dies, the Dawnguard will do that, we are just proving that we can hunt Vampires just as good as them. Your kind needs to be exterminated so people and rest easy at night knowing that nothing is going to feed on them or turn them into vampires. Now, are you going to come quietly, or are we going to have to drag you with us?" The Nord said.

"You can try, but I promise you, you both will die in the process. So, I am going to give you one chance just to walk away before I rip your throats out." I threatened while extending my claws.

They looked at each other for a second. Then the Nord fired his drawn arrow at me. The arrow hit me in the forehead. With a light _flick,_ it bounced off my forehead and fell to the ground. I looked at up at the ceiling with a sigh. Then I look at the two hunters, both having looks of utter shock on their faces.

"How are you still alive?" The Nord said shakily.

I didn't bother answering. I unsheathed the dagger at my side. I looked at the blade for a second, admiring craftsmanship of the blade. If there was anything redeemable about this knife, it was how it was crafted. Then I threw it at the Nord. The dagger flew and went right into the Nords arm with enough force behind it to knock him down.

"AHHHHH!" the Nord screamed in pain.

"To Oblivion with you!" The Orc shouted as he charged at me.

Instead of sidestepping the Orc, I grabbed his wrist and stopped his attack. I began to squeeze and twisted his wrist back to make him drop his mace.

 _Crack!_

"GRRAAHHH!" The Orc screamed as he dropped his mace. I forced him down on his knees. He desperately tries to pry my hand off his wrist and groans in pain. I then turn my attention to the girl they were chasing.

She lay on the ground on her chest with her face facing the other direction. Her arms were bound behind her back by the chains. She wore a tattered green dress and no shoes. From her backside, all I could see was her messy long blonde hair. She also had what looked like pointed ears that poked through her hair. And judging from the light brown tint in her skin, she was Bosmer. I also noticed two arrows through her right leg.

I looked back down to the Orc, still trying to free his wrist from my grip. I snatched his throat and began to squeeze and pull on his throat slowly. I could feel my claws slowly seep into his neck, not enough to kill him yet, but enough to make him suffer.

 _Aack, gak, gasp._

I looked into the Orcs eyes as he gasped. Fear was evident in them. I could tell he was praying to whatever god to spare him.

Before I could rip his throat out, the Nords voice broke my train of thought. "Let him go, or the elf dies!"

I broke eye contact with the Orc to see the Nord on his feet with the dagger against the Elf's throat. With the Elf's head unconsciously leaning against the Nord's chest, I could see her face. She was a Wood Elf. She had high cheekbones, a pointed chin, a cuved nose, and thin lips. I could also see a small gash on her eyebrow, probably from the Orcs mace.

I was silent for a bit.

"Why don't we both get what we want? I take the Elf and the dagger, and you can have your friend with his throat intact." I replied with a brief squeeze on the Orc throat.

The Nord was pondering my words. He briefly looked between the unconscious Elf in his arms and then to the Orc.

"Just kill the bitch, Finn. If I die, it will be a good death!" The Orc wheezed. I seeped my claws a bit further into his neck to shut him up. I could see the Nords hands shaking and his heart beating at unproportioned speeds.

Slowly the Nord began to lay her back down sat her down.

"And the dagger." I reminded.

He sat the dagger on the ground next to her. In return, I let go of the Orcs throat, and he fell on his back, gasping for air. I looked at my claws and retracted them. The tips of my fingertips were covered in black blood from the Orcs necks. I licked my fingers. Orc blood was drinkable, but it is a bit too sour for my taste. I found it odd that out of the other elvish races, orcs had bitter blood instead of sweet blood.

The Nord raced over to the Orc. The Orc was still trying to catch his breath while also putting his hand over the small puncture holes left from my claws. I walked over to the unconscious woman. I grabbed the dagger and ran the blade and wipe it off with the top of my hand. Then I sheathed it.

I turned back and saw the Nord escorting the Orc out of the cabin.

"May I also have the key to these?" I said, gesturing to the cuffs around the Elf's wrists.

The Nord, without hesitation, reached into his pocket and tossed me the key. The then escorted his friend out of the cabin. I waited a while and sniffed the air to make sure they were far away. When I couldn't smell or hear them anymore, I turned to the unconscious woman on the ground. As I unlocked the cuffs, I examined the two arrows in her leg. One of the arrows was in her thigh, the arrowhead completely through the back of her thigh, a clean shot. The other arrow was in her calf. The arrowhead was still in her flesh. That one was going to hurt the most.

 _Click._

Once the shackles were off her, I threw them aside. I flipped her on her back and picked her up bridal style, careful not to move the arrows around. I looked around the cabin and found a bed. I carried her over and laid her down. I then took her right leg and bent it up. I grabbed the first arrow that was through her leg and snapped the end with the feathers off.

"Ahhhhh!" The girl awoke with a shock and grabbed her leg. She looked up from her and leg and took in her surroundings. Her yellow eyes widened in fear when they met mine. She darted to the corner of the bed as far as she could. She grunted in pain from the arrows in her legs. I just watched her take in surrounding and gather her bearings.

"The men are gone if that is what you were wondering." I said to her to break the silence between us.

She looked at me but didn't say anything. I saw her eyes go to my hands, which had half of the arrow in it. She then looked to her thigh. She grabbed the other half of the arrow. I watched her shut her eyes tight and slowly pulled it out. Tears were leaking from her eyes.

The arrow moved several inches out before she stopped. She bit her bottom lip, and I heard a whimper escape her lips. More tears began to pour from her eyes. She was biting her lip so hard she was starting to draw blood.

"I can help," I said, showing her the end with the feathers.

She didn't make eye contact with me. Her hand slowly dropped to her side. I slowly sat on the bed and grabbed the arrow. As I slowly pulled it, whimpers of pain leaked from her. Once it was out, I grabbed the other arrow in her calf, but I did not remove it yet.

"This will hurt, but I will make it quick," I said.

All I got was a slight nod. In one swift movement, I pulled out the arrow. I saw her cringe and inwardly scream through her teeth. I threw the arrow at the other end of the cabin. She put her hand on her calf. I shimmied my left arm out of the robes and ripped off my sleeve. Then I tore the sleeve into pieces of rags. I handed her some of the cloths and proceeded to wrap her calf. She began to wrap her thigh.

"What happened to the hunters?" She asked, not meeting my eyes.

"They fled after I made myself known," I replied.

She looked at me in slight disbelief. I watched her yellow eyes look up and down at me.

"Those hunters were armed to the teeth, and all you have is a dagger. How did you make them leave?" She asked as she finished bandaging her calf and started on her thigh.

"I can be very persuasive," I replied, tightening the knot on her leg.

She grunted in pain.

"Sorry." I apologized.

Silence overcame the room for a bit. The only thing that could be heard was the chirping of crickets and the steam of the geysers. My eyes scanned her body again if there were any wounds. I saw the cut on her head. Her blood was slowly leaking out of the cut and down into her left eye. She closed it and groaned in frustration and wiped the blood out of her eye. I put a rag on the cut. She stopped and looked at me. When her eyes met mine, I felt my heart race a bit. She looked away from my gaze.

"Thank you." She nervously said as she continued bandaging her thigh.

"Your welcome," I replied, keeping the rag on her head.

Silence again filled the air.

"Isn't blood bad for silk?" She asked.

"I think its satin. It doesn't matter." I replied. "They are not mine."

"So, you're a thief." She stated with a bit of edge in her voice.

"Nope. I took these from a group of thieves who stole something of mine. Does it still count as stealing if you steal from thieves?" I asked with a small smirk on my face.

"Sorry." She apologized embarrassingly.

"No need to apologize," I said, removing the rag from her head. I watched as more blood began to leak out of the wound. I applied the cloth again. Looking at her clothes, it seems like she has lived in the woods for the past month. Her dress was torn, the skirt, the sleeves, the torso everything. I examined her leg again. For her to begin healing, she would have to feed.

"Why are you helping me? Are you expecting something in return besides my thanks?" She asked cautiously.

"I know what it's like to be hunted for something you can't control. And no, I'm helping because you need help." I replied, taking the rag off her head again to check if it was still bleeding.

I gazed back into her eyes, who just watched me with unbridled curiosity. The orangish-gold hue it had made her look…adorable.

Not wanting to give her the wrong impression, I looked back to the cut.

"It stopped bleeding for the most part. Keep this on it, though." I said, handing her the rag.

As she leaned forward, I heard her dress rip, even more, exposing more of her shoulders, along with her chest. The tears gave me a full view of her undergarments. She cried out and retreated into the bed. She curled her torso to cover herself. I heard her began to cry. I looked around and saw a dresser. I walked over, only to find it empty. I began to take off the robe.

"Why is everything happening to me?" She asked as she sobbed.

I draped the thick fur robe over her body. She looked up at me with widened puffy eyes, then to the robe.

"Thank you. You are too kind." She said with a sniffle as she wrapped herself tightly in the robes.

"Where is your home?" I asked

She laughed sarcastically. "I never really had a home. I used to have a shack outside of Ivarstead. I am an alchemist."

"How long have you been a vampire?" I asked next.

Her eyes widened with at my question and she tried to move farther away from me, but the walls of the cabin wouldn't allow it. I raised my hands forward.

"It's okay. I knew what you were when I saw you." I said reassuringly.

That seemed to ease a bit.

"About three months and four days." She replied.

"What happened?" I asked

"I was tending to my plants late one night when I heard someone calling for help. I stepped outside of my shack, and I found this Breton on the side of the road curled into a fetal position. I ran to his side to see what was wrong with him. When I turned him on his back, he was gripping his stomach. He kept saying that the pain was unbearable. I quickly ran into my cabin to grab a potion for the pain." She stated with shaky sadness. "As I turned around, I found him standing in front of me with a smile on his face. Then I began to feel light-headed as I looked into his eyes. I passed out."

She paused for a bit. I saw tears began to flow out of her eyes again. "I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke up, I felt severely weak. I found my potions smashed or emptied, and my ingredients burned. I saw no sign of the Breton anywhere. I checked if any part of my clothes was out of place until I found a set of various cuts on my arms, hands, legs, feet, shoulders, and neck. I then felt a severe burning sensation on my arm that was exposed to the afternoon sun. That was when it dawned that I have been infected." She covered her face with her hands and continued to weep.

"I tried to see if any of my ingredients survived, or if I could head to Riften and make or buy a potion from there. Sadly, when I arrived, the alchemists in Riften were out of potions as well as the ingredients to make cures. Within a matter of days, I became...this." She finished. She continued to weep.

I felt sorry for her, to be tricked by her kindness, and to be punished for it. I felt anger for this Breton. Vampires were nothing but ravenous beasts, and I despised them. I looked outside to gage when the sun was going to come out. I could not just leave her here, especially in her condition.

I stood up and out of the bed and poked my head out the door. In the distance, I could see Morvunskar. I looked back at the Bosmer. At most, it would take an hour or two if I were to persuade her to come with me. With her state and the sun about to come out, she would perish.

"If you want, you can come with me to a haven, away from hunters and the Dawnguard." I offered.

She sniffled and used her hands to wipe away her tears. Her puffy eyes looked at me.

"Where is this haven?" She asked.

"Morvunskar." I replied.

She looked at me in utter disbelief.

"Morvunskar is home to a cult of Necromancers. How is that a haven?" She questioned.

"Just leave that to me. I promise as long as I breathe, no harm will come to you when we get there." I assured.

She looked away from my gaze and thought about the offer.

"Wouldn't I just slow you down? I can barely walk." she said, gesturing to her injured leg.

"I will carry you." I replied.

She just looked at me, dumbfoundedly. She looked to her leg, probably contemplating my words.

"Alright." She stated with a sigh.

"But you better not try anything slick. I don't want you trying to cop a feel." She said, leaving no room for negotiation.

"You have my word." I bowed my head.

I got closer to the bed and knelt beside her. I slowly snaked one of my arms under her leg and the other onto her lower back When I scooped her into my arms, she hissed and reached for her leg

"Sorry." I said again adjusting my arms, making sure the robes were snug around her body.

She glared at me for my carelessness. I thought it was adorable.

I began walking out of the shack and towards the stream to the other side. As I entered the water, the Elf curled up closer to my chest, trying to avoid getting herself drenched. I tensed when her blonde locks moved into my face. Her scent reached my nostrils, smelling of dirt and oddly, mountain flowers. It was nice. When we got to the other side, she relaxed more into my grasp, the blonde hair leaving my senses.

"What is your name?" She asked.

I climbed up the small hill and onto the road.

"My name is Damian." I replied.

"Damian. That's a nice name." She stated.

My name sounded good on her voice. It has been forever since I was called by it. I haven't been called that name since...I was with my mother when my powers were starting to grow.

'No. That woman was not my mother. Not anymore,' I thought disdainfully.

To take my mind off this subject, I looked towards the girl in my arms.

"What about you? What is your name?" I asked.

She looked up to me sleepily.

"My name is Nivewen." She said. I watched her lean her head against my chest and closed her eyes. From the night she's had, it's no wonder she would be tired.

'Nivewen.' I thought to myself. I liked her name.

 **Hello everyone! Sinbad here. I hope everyone is doing well during the COVID-19 quarantine. The only plus side to this quarantine, along with the additional week of Spring Break, I was able to get this chapter typed. So here is Chapter 10, I hope you all enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a review; your input is much appreciated. Until next time everyone, take it easy. Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is owned or associated with The Elder Scrolls, I am just a fan.**


End file.
